Launch Pad Prose Competition
Enter NowAbout
Accepting submissions for everything from short stories, to fantasy epics – we’re looking for the next great voices in fiction writing.
Featuring a jury designed to set you up for success – including vetted industry professionals from well known agencies and publishers like Nelson Literary Agency, Veritas Literary Agency, Sugar23 and more.
Manuscript not completed, no problem. Whether you have a ten page short story or a 1,000 page fantasy epic, we want to read it! There’s no need to have a finished manuscript. As long as you have sample pages accompanied by a thorough synopsis, you are welcome to enter! Our readers and judges will review up to 50 pages of every submission, as well as a synopsis for book submissions.
Prices & Deadlines
Jan 20th
Early
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Feb 20th
Regular
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Mar 20th
Late
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Apr 20th
Final
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Standard Entry
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$55.00
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$65.00
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$75.00
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$85.00
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Entry + 1 Page of Feedback
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$130.00
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$140.00
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$150.00
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$160.00
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Benefits
PRIZES
2 Grand Prize Winners | (Best Book & Best Short Story)
Each of the competition winners will be invited to an exclusive yearly virtual event where they will get the chance to meet with and pitch industry professionals from management companies, agencies and/or production companies in a 1:1 setting.
They will also receive all of the benefits listed below.
Top 10
Everything the Top 50 receive, plus…
- - Your work will be read, reviewed and voted on by our esteemed Judges.
- - One free entry to any future Launch Pad Competition of your choosing.
Top 50
Everything the Top 100 receive, plus…
- One year free membership to the Tracking Board.
Top 100
- Receive brief written feedback from a competition reader.
- Your project and writer profile will be shared and marketed to our extensive industry networks.
Jury
Amanda Marshall
Producer
Amanda Marshall is producer who develops and produces independent films with up-and-coming filmmakers. Notable recent credits include Mike Birbiglia’s DON’T THINK TWICE; A24’s SWISS ARMY MAN, starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, for which she was nominated for a Spirit Award for Best First Feature; UNTITLED AMAZING JONATHAN DOCUMENTARY which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Hulu. She also executive produced Marielle Heller’s Spirit Award-winning THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL. Most recently she produced the Film Independent lab project THE TIME CASPULE and GOD’S COUNTRY, starring Thandiwe Newton, which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where Marshall was the recipient of the Amazon/Sundance Institute Producers Award. She is currently in post on the independent television show UNCONVENTIONAL created by Kit Williamson, as well as an Executive Producer on the documentary SPLIT BY THE ROOT which premiered at SXSW. Marshall was previously President of production at Cold Iron Pictures and has been a mentor for the Sundance Institute and Film Independent. She is a member of the PGA and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and an At-Large member on the Executive Committee for the Producers Union.
Joanna MacKenzie
Agent
Nelson Literary Agency
Joanna MacKenzie is an agent with Nelson Literary Agency where she represents authors writing for both the adult and children’s markets across all areas of fiction. She is drawn to vivid, engaging writing and is particularly interested in high concept thrillers (with a soft spot for speculative and anything that challenges tropes) , voicey mysteries, dark academia, stories that straddle genres, and women’s fiction where the personal intersects with the world at large - if any of these are set in the Midwest, all the better. Across the board, she’s looking for works that highlight under-represented voices. Her authors are New York Times bestsellers, Edgar and Anthony Award nominees, and critically acclaimed storytellers.
John W. Beach
Owner, Manager & Producer
Gravity Squared Entertainment
"John has worked in the entertainment industry for over 25 years - starting as a literary agent at Paradigm and later with ACME Talent & Literary, where he was instrumental in the sale of Oliver Stone's WORLD TRADE CENTER w/ Nicolas Cage and YOUTH IN REVOLT w/ Michael Cera. After many years working at talent agencies and a production company here and there, John started Gravity Squared Entertainment, a Los Angeles based management/production company, in Jan. 2015. Gravity Squared has over 350 published books/treatment/scripts under their management, many being Pulitzer Prize winners and New York Times bestsellers. They currently have over 25 projects in various stages of development/production - including: developing and producing a project with Mosaic & Legendary Pictures with Will Ferrell (ANCHORMAN) starring and Adam McKay (VICE, THE BIG SHORT) producing; optioned the book, NOT QUITE NARWHAL by Gravity Squared client, Jessie Sima, to DreamWorks Animation TV about a unicorn being raised by narwhal, in which 2 seasons are currently on Netflix; and they recently optioned Judith Heumann's memoir, BEING HEUMANN to AppleTV+, which they are producing with David Permut (HACKSAW RIDGE) and the 2022 Academy Award winning writer/director of CODA, Sian Heder, at the helm to write and direct the biopic."
Katrina Escudero
Media Rights Manager
Sugar23
Katrina Escudero's work experience includes various roles in the media industry. Katrina is currently employed as a Media Rights Manager at Sugar23 since February 2021. Prior to that, they worked at United Talent Agency as a Media Rights Agent from December 2015 to February 2021. Before joining United Talent Agency, Katrina worked at ICM Partners, where they held multiple roles including Media Rights Coordinator, Head of the Story Department, Agent Trainee, and Assistant to Media Rights Agent.
Melissa Azizi
Creative Producer
Sparkwood Films
From 2012-2022, Melissa Azizi worked in Los Angeles with Gail Mutrux (DONNIE BRASCO, NURSE BETTY, RAIN MAN) to help develop and produce critically acclaimed films and scripted television such as: the Academy Award-winning THE DANISH GIRL, the Golden Globe-winning HBO mini-series SHOW ME A HERO (wr. David Simon & Bill Zorzi), the Academy Award-nominated NEWS OF THE WORLD starring Tom Hanks, iBOY (UK's first Netflix Original) and more. Melissa successfully sourced the SLOW HORSES crime book-series by Mick Herron, which airs on Apple TV+ starring Gary Oldman, as well as Len Vlahos' LIFE IN A FISHBOWL in development with Amazon. In 2020, Melissa co-founded Australia’s first screenwriting fellowship, IN DREAMS – designed to connect two unrepresented Australian screenwriters with Hollywood industry. She is also a Sundance Producers Lab finalist. Before this, Melissa produced short films in Australia that have screened in over 100 film festivals worldwide, and has been supported by various Australian film agencies. In 2024, Melissa produced a feature documentary, BREAKING BOUNDARIES with her company Sparkwood Films. She is now currently based in Sydney producing with Studio Gilay, while working on her directorial feature.
Cora Markowitz
Associate Agent
Georges Borchardt, Inc.
Cora Markowitz is an associate agent at Georges Borchardt, Inc., one of the oldest agencies in Manhattan. She graduated from Kenyon College with a BA in English and has completed the Columbia Publishing Course. She has previously worked for the Kenyon Review, Flatiron Books, Pippin Properties, and Macmillan, prior to making her way to the Borchardt agency, where she is currently building her list.
Elizabeth Pratt
Manager
Trellis Literary Management
Elizabeth Pratt joined Trellis Literary Management after 1.5 years at Park & Fine Literary and Media. Prior to that, she worked at Universal McCann and The Wylie Agency. A graduate of the University of Michigan, where she studied history and English, and the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford, Elizabeth currently supports Michelle Brower and Stephanie Delman while building a list of her own. Originally from East Lansing, Michigan, Elizabeth now lives in New York.
Emily MacDonald
Agent
42 Management & Production
Emily MacDonald joined 42 in 2019, working with Eugenie Furniss across her clients. She is now an agent in the Books Department, building her own list. Her clients include McIlvanney Prize winner, Callum McSorley; former features writer, Eleanor Tucker; journalist Eleanor Peake; podcaster Hannah Ajala; and screenwriter Jenna Al-Ansari. She represents across a wide range of genres, but is always looking for undeniable characters, immersive settings and having her horizons widened.
Ginger Hutchinson
Agent
Moveable Type Management
Ginger Hutchinson is a literary agent with Movable Type Management. She represents authors writing for an adult audience across several genres, including: suspense and thrillers, mysteries, upmarket women’s fiction, contemporary romance, cozy fantasy/paranormal, grounded speculative, historical fiction from underrepresented voices, and psychological horror. Above all, Ginger is focused on working with writers who value a craft-based approach and a collaborative editorial relationship. Raised in a small town on Florida’s Nature Coast, Ginger is passionate about stories that feature a rich sense of place, complex women and relatable themes.
Michael Carr
Literary Agent
Veritas Literary Agency
Michael Carr is a literary agent with a background in editing and writing, working from a home base in San Francisco. He represents writers in a variety of genres, with a special emphasis on historical fiction, women’s fiction, mystery and suspense, and science fiction and fantasy. Michael works carefully with clients to produce the cleanest, most professional manuscripts and enjoys teaching at workshops and conferences to help develop emerging writers. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian, and before joining Veritas had professions as diverse as programming simulators for nuclear submarines and owning an inn in Vermont.
Steven Adams
Founder/Partner
Alta Global Media
Award-winning Manager/Producer Steven Adams is a Founding Partner of Alta Global Media where he represents actors, writers/directors, and international media companies. Adams is rapidly creating a bridge between the African Continent and the Americas through representing and producing with the next generation of breakthrough African filmmakers. Adams represents South African director Mandla Dube and South African writer Sabelo Mgidi, who collaborated on Silverton Siege, Netflix's first ever commissioned African film, which earned both Dube and Mgidi SAFTA nominations for Best Director and Best Screenwriter, respectively. Adams was also instrumental in striking a historic 3-picture deal for Dube with Netflix, marking only the third time Netflix has struck such a partnership with an African filmmaker.
Tessa Shaffer
Literary Manager and Vice President
Corvisiero Literary Agency
Tessa Shaffer is the Vice President of CLA, representing screenwriters for the Film & TV side as well as a small, select number of authors in various genres from Middle Grade to Non-Fiction. She has a passion for finding cinematic books, developing adaptations, and bridging the two industries for the clients of Corvisiero Literary Agency.
Tyler Vendetti
Creative Executive
Tyler was recently a Manager of Development at ITV Studios America, ITV Studios’ LA-based independent scripted television operation. Previously, she served as a WPA on a number of productions including SWAMP THING for DC Universe and DEAD TO ME for Netflix. She holds a B.A. in English and Film & New Media from Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and is an alum of the NBCUniversal Page Program.
Mentorship Program
Don Handfield
Producer and Showrunner
Don Handfield is the co-creator and executive producer of History Channel series Knightfall and producer of critically-acclaimed films The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, and Kill the Messenger, featuring Jeremy Renner. Together, Handfield and Renner co-founded the production company The Combine. His graphic novel Unikorn is currently being developed into a feature film by the executive producers behind Harry Potter and The Dark Knight, and LoveStruck, the series he co-created with Mc Foley is currently being developed for television by Ryan Reynolds' company Maximum Effort. He is also the co-creator and Executive Producer of Sultana, an epic historical series set up at AGC Studios (For Those About to Die) with Tarsem attached to direct. Handfield is an established comic creator and co-owner/partner in several independent publishing entities, including publisher AMP Comics and studio Thunder Comics. His comic series, The Rift, was optioned by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and adapted for Apple TV+'s Amazing Stories. He is the founder of the Script2Comic Contest and teaches film and TV writing at UCLA, Chapman University, and UNCSA, with guest lectures at USC and UC Riverside. His directorial debut, Touchback, earned a Saturn Award, and his short film My Name Is... won the Grand Jury Prize at the Atlanta Film Festival. His novel adaptation of Touchback received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly. His book on the craft of writing The Three Ring Method for Story is being published in 2025 through Simon & Schuster.
Mollie Glick
Literary Agent
CAA
Mollie Glick represents many top authors and thought leaders, including President Joe Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris; Dame Jacinda Ardern, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg; Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Ken Armstrong, T. Christian Miller, and Kyle Hopkins; National Book Award-nominees Ali Benjamin and Karla Cornejo Villavicencio; Dylan Thomas Prize recipient Patricia Lockwood; #1 NYT bestselling authors Mark Manson, Nic Stone, and Stephanie Land.
Dani Segelbaum
Literary Agent
Arc Literary Management
Dani Segelbaum joined Arc Literary in 2024 after three years at the Carol Mann Agency. She began her publishing career as an editorial assistant at HarperCollins Publishers, focusing primarily on highly designed non-fiction titles. She previously worked as a literary assistant at New Leaf Literary & Media, working with established and debut authors.
Guaranteed Development
Ally Calloway Prince
Coordinator, Scripted TV
Lionsgate
Alexandra Calloway Prince rose from account coordinator to Senior Publicist at SHADOW PR, where she spearheaded campaigns for clients including Serena Williams, Chanel, and ColourPop, while also founding the company's first DEI division. Her passion for narrative storytelling led her to Lionsgate's TV Scripted Development Group in 2021, where she leverages her brand expertise and strategic vision to develop compelling content that pushes boundaries and champions diverse voices in entertainment.
Sasha Duncan
Director of Development
Kickstart Entertainment
Sasha Duncan is a writer, director, and creative producer working in the live-action and animated space. She is the Director of Development for Kickstart Entertainment (Deepa & Anoop, The Boys, Barbie Mysteries) and the Festival Co-Director for the Run N Gun Filmmakers Society, who host the largest 48hr film competition and festival in Canada. Her personal work has screened in festivals all over the world and she was the recipient of the 2023 Short Film Award from Whistler Film Festival, CreativeBC, and ScreenBC. She is passionate about uplifting artistic voices and helping other creatives to share their gifts, and holds a diploma of Writing for Film & Television from Vancouver Film School and a BA in Sociology from UBC.