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Table Read My Screenplay
Table Read My Screenplay Competition
2020
Active Since 2010
Let US take YOU to Cannes! Whether you’re a first-time writer or a film veteran, table reads can give you invaluable insight into your screenplay.
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About

Have a Horror, Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, or Mystery/Crime/Thriller script? Submit here. These genres have different submission deadlines.

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Compete for a chance to experience a live table read of your script with a professional director and actors. Six winners (one in each genre) will receive $1,000 and membership/access to valuable industry resources. In addition to a live table read, the grand prize winner will receive passes to the Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference and be accepted onto the ISA Development Slate, where a team will pitch you and your project to agents, managers, and producers for a minimum of one year. Our industry partners include CAA, Disney+, Warner, ICM and Echo Lake, among others.


We accept features, TV pilots, shorts, and web series.

Benefits

6 Genre Winners

Feature / TV Pilot Grand Prize Winner

  • Flight and Accommodations at the Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference
  • A Live Table Read of Your Script with a Professional Director and Actors During the Festival
  • Tickets to Films, Panels, Parties and More
  • ISA Development Slate Acceptance
  • Professionally Designed Movie Poster
  • Plus Genre Winners' Prizes

Short/Web Series Grand Prize Winner


Success 

  • 2018 TRMS Winner, Elaine Loh, is currently staffed on the new Gossip Girl reboot for HBO Max, premiering in late 2020. Among many contest wins, Elaine is the Grand Prize Winner of Table Read Hollywood 2018 and one of the ISA’s Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch in 2019.
  • 2015 Table Read My Screenplay Austin Grand Prize Short Winner Denise Meyers' contest-winning script is now a film. The Dark of Night, directed by Robin Wright and starring Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb, and had its red carpet premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.
  • 2017 OSCAR nominee and TRMS Grand Prize Winner Timo von Gunten directed Eiffel, an action/heist film that chronicles the exploits of international con man Victor Lustig. Von Gunten’s La Femme et le TGV, TRMS Grand Prize winning romantic drama, was nominated for an Academy Award in the live action shorts category.

Hollywood 2024 Grand Prize Winner on Coverfly

See Other Placements

Announcements

Jul 15th
Top 25 Shorts or Web Series
Aug 18th
Top 10 (Feature or TV Pilot)
Aug 18th
Genre Winners
Sep 24th
Grand Prize Winner (Feature or TV Pilot)
Sep 24th
Grand Prize Winner (Feature or TV Pilot)

Rules

  • This contest is open to anyone except all employees, judges, directors, associates, and immediate families of the TABLE READ MY SCREENPLAY (TRMS) Contest.
  • The writer is under no obligation to participate in the contest and understands that it is not a guarantee or expectation of employment.
  • We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, or disability. It is our intention that all qualified submissions be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions are based on script-related factors alone.
  • Up to four scripts may be entered on one entry form. Additional scripts can be entered through an additional entry form.
  • Promotional discounts offered may only be utilized at the time of submission, and no partial refund for a promotional code may be issued after an entry has been officially submitted.
  • Once material has been entered, no substitutions of new drafts or corrections will be considered after 24 hours from original submission time and date have passed. After this time the writer may complete a new entry form and pay the appropriate entry fee to submit a revised version of their script.
  • Loglines may be changed once during the competition by e-mailing info@tablereadmyscreenplay.com with a revised logline; the writer must include the Title and Date of the original submission in the body of the e-mail along with the logline.
  • Feedback is a separate service with an additional fee, and unless specifically part of a promotion, is not an expected part of any entry. Feedback is in no way tied to contest placement.
  • The writer understands that feedback, whether paid or received as part of a promotion, can take 90 days or more to be returned, and may not be received before the end of the contest. TRMS will make all attempts to return feedback as soon as possible.
  • TRMS does not provide notes and/or scoring with every entry.
  • Grand Prize Winners from previous TRMS seasons may submit again, provided the contest city is not the same for which they previously won, and they must submit a new screenplay to be eligible.
  • Previous Shorts Prize Winners may enter a feature/pilot to any contest. If a writer wins the Grand Prize in two cities they may no longer submit.
  • Those who have placed as a Top 10 or Category Winner three times with three separate screenplays are ineligible to submit in any future contest season.
  • If two or more of your scripts place in the same prize category, you will be eligible for only one set of those prizes.
  • International writers are eligible to participate in the contest, as long as their participation is not prevented by law in either country.
  • TRMS will provide roundtrip airfare up to $800 for a Domestic flight or $1500 for an international flight not to exceed $1500. There is no cash reimbursement for flights that cost more than the limit, nor will there be a disbursement of the difference for flights that are less than the limit.
  • Adaptations from other works are permissible provided the writer has written permission to adapt the work from the original source.
  • Adaptations of works in the public domain are permissible, however the writer assumes all responsibility assuring copyright status.
  • Collaborative work is eligible; the writers are responsible for the distribution of the contest prize(s). Only one pass and airfare & hotel for a single writer will be awarded to the Grand Prize Winner.
  • Writers under the age of 18 years old must have parent or legal guardian’s permission to participate.
  • The script and any related materials must not be in a current option agreement, and/or may not have been previously sold or produced for profit.
  • The writer understands and accepts without reservation that they are an independent contractor and that the contest administrators and sponsors are not responsible for withholding any taxes or payments on prize money to any government agency, at any level, be it local, state, or federal.
  • The writer understands that it is their sole responsibility to register material with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or with the Writers Guild of America West or the appropriate agency in his/her country.
  • The writer must retain at least one copy of the submitted material and understands that any material we receive cannot and will not be returned under any circumstances.
  • Script Length Guidelines: Feature – (70 – 130 pages), TV Pilots – (10 – 70 pages), Shorts – (1 – 45 pages), Web Series Pilots (1-20 pages)
  • Scripts longer than recommended length will still be considered for the contest and will not be disqualified.
  • If a screenplay is submitted for feedback and is over 130 pages, an additional service fee of $1 per page will apply; the writer will be invoiced separately for the fee. If the writer does not wish to pay an additional fee, the Feedback Reader will be instructed to read the first 130 pages only.
  • All entries must be received by Final Deadline. TRMS reserves the right to extend the contest deadline up to 90 days.
  • TRMS is not responsible for late, lost, unacceptably formatted, corrupt, or incorrect submissions, and may not be able to honor such entries.
  • The writer may submit their screenplay to any other person, contest, producer, agent, publisher, and/or organization.
  • The writer retains all rights to their screenplay, subject to the terms and agreements contained herein.
  • The writer assures that to the best of their knowledge they have the legal right to submit it for judging to TRMS.
  • The writer understands that their logline and/or screenplay will be reviewed by ISA and TRMS employees and/or our panel of Industry Judges for evaluation. The writer also understands that any one of these employees or judges may have been or may be exploring ideas similar to those contained in scripts they read, and hereby waives any claim that TRMS, its employees or judges may have misappropriated any ideas or portions of their submission logline or script.
  • No agreement for compensation, other than the TRMS prizes listed, has been implied.
  • Confirmation of entry will be received once a script is submitted with an entry form and completed with an entry fee through our payment vendor. The writer must provide a valid e-mail address with entry; if an email address should change after submission, it is the writer’s responsibility to let us know.
  • The writer understands that the ISA and TRMS will be free to use their name and likeness for advertising or promotional purposes without additional consideration, should the writer make it past the first round.
  • All winners agree to give permission to the ISA, TRMS and other sponsors for associated contest audio and video recordings of the Table Read and other events to be used on websites and social media platforms.
  • TRMS reserves the right to award a cash prize at its discretion. The Winner is under no obligation to accept the associated prizes but will not be awarded or owed a cash replacement upon electing not to move forward with prizes offered.
  • TRMS may develop a series or documentary style program based on the inner workings of the contest and the production resulting there from. TRMS reserves the right to contact the writer with offers to participate in any such production. The writer is under no obligation to participate therein.
  • All Grand Prize, Top 10 and Semifinalist choices are made at the express decision of TRMS, and once made are considered final. The writer agrees to accept without reservation the decisions rendered by the judges.
  • There are no refunds for submissions at any time for any reason.
  • TRMS has the right to change or add to the prizes at any time, without notice, and/or substitute prizes of equal or lesser value.
  • Additional rules may be amended at the sole discretion of TRMS.
  • By selecting ‘I have Read and Understand the Contest Rules’ on the entry page and submitting, the writer agrees to all of these rules.
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2020