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WeScreenplay
WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Lab
Spring 2019
Coverfly-exclusive
Reads in Coverfly
Active Since 2016
WeScreenplay is looking for stories from writers with underrepresented backgrounds. 6 writers will be selected to participate in a career-changing lab!
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About

Every entry includes free, written feedback!

Diverse Voices Competition and Lab strives to provide a contest that is purely focused on promoting and encouraging diverse voices in Hollywood. The contest encourages stories that are told from perspectives that are often underrepresented in Hollywood today. This includes writers of color, women writers, writers with disabilities, writers over 40, writers in the LGBTQ+ community, and any other voices and stories that are currently underrepresented in Hollywood.

The top scripts are read by our amazing industry jury:

Ben Cory Jones

Ben Cory Jones has written on various shows, including Chasing Life (ABC Family), Hand of God (Amazon), Underground (WGN), and Insecure (HBO). He also created and wrote the drama series, CANDY, and is also the showrunner/co-creator of the upcoming BET series, Boomerang – based on the iconic film.

Jesse Atlas

Jesse Atlas is a writer/director known for amazing short-form content like RECORD/PLAY and LET THEM DIE LIKE LOVERS. His works have been official selections at festivals like Sundance, LA Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, and Tribeca Film Festival. Most recently, Jesse co-founded the Autonomika Story Lab to help emerging filmmakers find their voice and vision.

More jury members to be announced shortly!

Benefits

Past winners have signed at Gotham Group, Heroes and Villains, and Industry Entertainment.

The Grand Prize Winner and the First Place Winner in each category will be flown to Los Angeles and put up in an iconic LA Hotel for a Diverse Voices Four Day Screenwriting Lab. The Lab will include hands-on development with industry executives, WeScreenplay staff, writers, and each other. It'll also include meetings with executives and managers about you, your writing career, and your projects in development.

Beyond that, the winners' work will be strategically sent to producers, agents, and managers with whom WeScreenplay has a relationship. All Finalists will be publicly recognized through our website and email lists.

The Grand Prize winner will receive a $1,000 writing grant.

Writer Success

Fall 2024 Winners on Coverfly

See Other Placements

Announcements

Jun 15th
Finalists
Jul 19th
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. Screenplays entered must:

a. Not include the writer’s or writing team’s name or contact information on any page of the script including the title page. If the name is on the title page only, the script won’t be disqualified.

b. Include a title page with no name(s) of the writer or writing team.

c. Be submitted in PDF form and must fit all standard screenplay format guidelines. Personal formatting conventions will be accepted but must not intentionally or accidentally alter the page count of the project as determined by the judges. A rule of thumb, if your script is formatted properly and under 120 pages, it will likely not be more than 23,000 words.

d. Be owned solely by the writer or writing team listed. It may be an adaptation or reimagining of true events or fictional stories. It may not be a sequel to or prequel to any script or movie not owned by the writer or writing team.

e. Be written in English. However, scripts from anywhere in the world will be accepted.

2. Writer must be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission.

3. To be eligible for the Grand Prize, finalists must answer a prompt that aligns with the Diverse Voices Mission within 10 days of the finalist announcement. The prompt will be “How does your voice, experience, or story represents a new and diverse perspective for Hollywood?”

4. Screenplays entered may be in any genre or combination of genres. All will be treated equally and read by an unbiased panel of judges.

5. Screenplays of 3 different formats will be accepted: Feature, TV, or Short. All will compete for the Grand Prize, but will each have their unique honorable mention.

6. Entrant’s total earnings for screenwriting for either film or tv, produced or unproduced, must not exceed $50,000 in the past 18 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.

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

8. For a submission to be valid it must be accompanied with the appropriate payment based on the submission deadlines. Any scripts over 120 pages will be charged an extra $1 per page at any deadline.

9. Purchasing Judge’s Feedback, Basic Coverage, or Full Coverage will in no way impact the scoring of the screenplay or its chances of winning or placing in the competition.

10. All deadlines are at 11:59pm PST on the date listed. Any deadline alteration or promotion of any kind does not make any entry valid for a refund of any kind.

11. Alterations can be re-uploaded on the WeScreenplay use dashboard. Find it at wescreenplay.com

12. There are no refunds for any submitted screenplay. Coupons may not be applied to previously submitted scripts. Coupons deemed for WeScreenplay coverage may not be used for submission to the contest or addition of coverage to any submission unless explicitly stated.

13. There is no limit on the number of scripts a writer or writing team may submit.

14. Prizes are award per script and teams of writers are expected to divide prizes on their own accord. WeScreenplay will send prizes to the writer who submits the project and will in no way be responsible for how the prizes are distributed among the writing teams.

15. 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 score in the competition.

16. Scorecards will be distributed to each script within a week of elimination from the competition, but early distribution does not necessarily indicate placement in the contest. Feedback and Coverage will ideally be distributed between 2 and 3 weeks following submission, but this is not guaranteed. We only guarantee that coverage will be provided before the Semi Finalist Announcement.

17. WeScreenplay reserves the right to delay announcements for any reason. Delay may last up to but never more than 60 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.

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

19. By submitting to the contest you are releasing your script to WeScreenplay and holding harmless WeScreenplay or any affiliates from any claims, expenses, and liabilities, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, copyright, libel, trademark infringement, slander, personal property infringement, etc.

20. Any prize winners may be required to sign an affidavit validating their entry into the contest.

21. Any cash prize winners of over $599 will be required to file a W-9 before the cash prize is distributed.

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

23. Former Grand Prize Winners of any WeScreenplay 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.

24. If a writer is under 18 at the time of entry, the any cash prize won will be distributed in the form of equal value coverage or contest entries for WeScreenplay. No cash will be awarded if under 18 years old.

25. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

26. Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to WeScreenplay 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.

27. BY ENTERING THE CONTEST YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS. You agree to release and hold harmless Red Ampersand Inc, WeScreenplay, 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.


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Spring 2019