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Killer Shorts
Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition
Season 2
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2019
Rare opportunity to have managers and producers reading your horror short screenplays and short stories.
View Latest Season
This season has closed, but there's a new season open now!

About

Got a horror short screenplay? We want to read it.

Our winners will be read by a jury featuring over a dozen literary managers, producers, development executives, filmmakers, and even an iconic horror actress

Prizes include guaranteed industry reads, Final Draft licenses for all Top 10 finalists, Shudder subscriptions, Creepy Co gift cards, rare horror memorabilia, and so much more.

Visit our website for more information.

Benefits

This year's jury includes:

  • Joe Bob Briggs - Film Critic, Performer
  • Scott Stoops - Literary Manager - Good Fear Content
  • Julian Terry - Filmmaker (Whisper, The Nurse, They Hear It)
  • Chelsea Lupkin - Senior Programmer at Short of the Week, Filmmaker (Flagged, Lucy's Tale)
  • Glenn Cockburn - Literary Manager - Meridian Artists
  • John Zaozirny - Literary Manager / Producer - Bellevue Productions
  • Barbara Crampton - Actress (You're Next, From Beyond, Chopping Mall, Re-Animator)
  • Jenn Wexler - Filmmaker (The Ranger, ABC's of Death 2, Slumber Party)
  • Scott Carr - Literary Manager - Management SGC
  • Sophie Carroll - Programming Manager - ALTER
  • Jason Tamasco  - Producer - Bad Idea Films
  • Matthew Dartnell - Literary Manager - Writ Large
  • Zack Zucker - Literary Manager / Producer - Bellevue Productions
  • Krista Sipp - Literary Manager - First Friday Entertainment


The Top 3 Winners Receive:

  1. Circulation and recommendation to our network of Hollywood managers, agents, producers and development executives.
  2.  Final Draft Screenwriting Software.
  3. Waived entry to multiple other contests and festivals.
  4. Framed Winner’s Certificate.
  5. Increased rank on Coverfly’s The Red List.
  6. Killer swag courtesy of Shudder, Final Draft, Creepy Co, Rue Morgue, Slasher TV, 1313 Mockingbird Lane Toys & Collectibles, Trick or Treat Studios, Fright Rags, Waxwork Records, Ghoulish Gary, and more.
  7. Shudder subscriptions (1 year, 6 months, and 3 months, respectively)
  8. VIP Platinum Memberships on Screenwriters Network (1 year, 6 months, and 3 months, respectively)
  9. Plus, our 3rd Place Winner will receive 5 pages of in-depth analysis and actionable advice from The Script Butcher!


Top 10 Finalists Receive:

Finalist Laurels, Final Draft license, Creepy Co. Gift Card, Increased rank on Coverfly’s The Red List, plus, your script will be read by our panel of industy judges.


Semi-Finalists Receive:

Semi Finalist Laurels, Increased rank on Coverfly’s The Red List, plus your screenplay will be made available by request to potential producers and filmmakers.


Quarter Finalists Receive:

Quarter Finalist Laurels, Increased rank on Coverfly’s The Red List, and 5 Coverfly Tokens for use on Coverfly’s free peer-to-peer notes exchange.


Writer Success

Season 5 Top 3 Winners on Coverfly

See Other Placements

Announcements

Mar 1st
Semifinalists
Mar 15th
Finalists
Apr 26th
Winners

Rules

At the program's request, Coverfly will automatically remove your title page for you if you include one when submitting to this program.

1.     Submissions are accepted via electronic submission only, between July 1, 2020 and December 15, 2020.

2.     Entry fee for each screenplay is $20 until the early deadline on September 1, 2020, then $25 until the regular deadline on October 31, 2020, $30 until the final deadline on November 25, 2020, and then $35 until the extended deadline on December 15, 2020.

3.     Feedback is not provided to writers at any time during or after the competition.

4.     Entrant’s total earnings for screenwriting for either film or TV, produced or unproduced, must not exceed $10,000 in the past 12 months. This excludes any prize money from competitions or fellowships and only applies to fund or money transferred in exchange for an option or sale of a script, treatment, idea, intellectual property, or other writing for filming. Money earned from acting, directing, producing, or any other film work outside of writing is not included.

5.     Screenplays submitted must not have been previously sold or produced unless said sale or production was competed with no financial gain to the writer.

6.     Screenplays must be a minimum of 1 page and a maximum of 25 pages. Any submission longer than 25 pages will be automatically disqualified.

7.     There is no limit to the number of projects you may submit.

8.     Entries must be received on or before the deadline dates by 11:59PM Pacific Time, and submission fee payment must be made in full at time of the submission. All entry fees are non-refundable.

9.     All submitted material must be original, and all rights must be wholly owned by the writer(s).

10.  Material must be submitted by the writer. Material written by writing teams must be submitted by one of the writers, with consent of the other(s). All writers must be credited on title page.

11.  If a writing team is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each team is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize money.

12.  The decision of the judges will be final and cannot be contested in any manner. There is no score on a scorecard that guarantees advancement to the next level as advancement will be based on all scores in the competition.

13.  Killer Shorts reserves the right to delay announcements for any reason. Delay may last up to but never more than 90 days. While we never anticipate any delays, such delays will not alter the standing of any screenplay entry and will qualify no script for a refund under any circumstance.

14.  By entering the Killer Shorts contest every entrant is agreeing to all Killer Shorts Terms and Conditions listed and available before checkout. If you disagree with any terms you may not submit to the contest.

15.  Substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entered material will not be allowed. Please proofread your script carefully before submitting.

16.  It is recommended that original material be registered with the WGA or The Library of Congress before submitting to any competition, however we do not require registration.

17.  Any winners may have their name, script title, and picture used for any Killer Shorts promotions or promotions of our sponsors or affiliates.

18.  Former Winners of any Killer Shorts contest may enter so long as it is NOT the same script that won in a previous year. Any other placement in former years does not disqualify the script from being entered this year.

19.  VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

20.  Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to Killer Shorts and its agents’ and contest sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

21.  BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS. You agree to release and hold harmless Killer Shorts, The Screenwriters Network, and its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, prize contributors, judges, screenplay readers, sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising or promoting the Contest, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s entry, participation in the Contest and/or acceptance or use or misuse of Prize.

22.  All ownership and rights to the scripts submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders.

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Website Contact
Season 2

Official Sponsors

Final Draft
Rue Morgue
Script Butcher
Ghoulish Gary
Script Hive
Fright Rags
Coverfly
ISA Network
Filmfreeway
Stan Winston School
ScriptHop
Scrivener
HorrorPack
Seed & Spark
Script Revolution
Qwerkytoys
Stage 32
Robert McKee's Horror Webinar Series