Screenwriting : StoryPros Contest by Becca-Chris M

There are few screenwriting contests worth entering. Basically the Nicholl Fellowship, the Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition, and, maybe, Final Draft's Big Break Contenst and/or Scriptapalooza. The first two are the big ones anyone really cares about about from what I've seen and heard. To answer your question: I personally have never heard of StoryPros.

Thanks for the input, Kevin. My co-writer and I entered the Nicholl Fellowship with one of our scripts, the Stage 32 contest with two, and the Screencraft Comedy contest with two this year. We tried Austin a long time back and Final Draft's and Scriptapalooza both last year.

How far did you get at Austin? I submitted there and I'm curious.

We didn't progress at Austin. It was long before we learned a lot about screenwriting and did many rewrites...

With Story Pros, you get money (always nice) and read requests (better than money). The guys who run it are great. I like that contest and have had good success with it.

Here is how Moviebytes rates Storypros: Report Card Overall: 4 stars (4.1/5.0) Professionalism: 4.5 stars (4.4/5.0) Feedback: 3 stars (3.2/5.0) Significance: 3.5 stars (3.3/5.0) Report Cards: 43

I've entered a lot of contests, one gave a short screenplay I entered a scathing review and comments. That short went on to be produced by a company in the UK and has been shown around Europe and now the US. The Rooster Must Die! Yes, I am not BS'ing you. Take a look at some of the winners and compare how they did in other contests. I've seen where they win, but don't place in another. Really, there is a lot of luck involved.

I entered a screenplay a couple of years ago just for the feedback... wasn't sure it was commercial enough. The reader provided insightful--and quite plentiful--notes, which I felt were worth the price of entry.

Thank you all for the input! Greatly appreciated. :)

@Phillip H. Does Moviebytes rate all the contests like that? Sounds really helpful.

Becca: yes, most established contests are rated.

Hmmm... I may submit to this one then. $100 for entry and coverage seems a bit steep.