Open for submissions

Final deadline: Friday 13 April 2018

Material must be submitted by the writer (for screenplays) or an authorized representative of the film-maker (for films). 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 the title page.

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.

It is recommended that original material be registered with the Writers Guild of America before submitting to any competition, but this is not a requirement for entry.

All ownership and rights to the screenplays and films submitted to this contest remains with the original rights holders. 

There are no age restrictions.

This is an international screenplay competition.  All persons from anywhere in the world are eligible but the material submitted must be in English. Foregin language films are welcome but must have English subtitles.

We accept material submitted to other competitions or contests.

The material submitted must not be encumbered by any obligation to, or option held by, a third party prior to entering the competition.

Any submitted work that becomes optioned, produced or purchased between the time of submission and the end of the judging period will no longer be eligible.

Screenplays should be submitted in the standard screenplay format, font, spacing and margin. This is part of the judging criteria. Please ask us if you're unsure about this and we'll point you in the right direction regarding format, but please check out ourScreenwriting School in the first instance.

Adaptations are ineligible unless the underlying rights are owned by the writer or the work is in the public domain.

Screenplays of 140 pages or longer are eligible but a flat fee of $70.00 will be applied to them, regardless of submission date. Entries in excess of 140 pages can only be submitted via the 13Horror.com website on this page.

All screenplays must be submitted via FilmFreeway or electronically as a PDF or a Word document or it will not be eligible.

Thirteen winning screenplays will be chosen based on the following criteria:

(i) originality

(ii) story

(iii) characterization

(iv) presentation

(v) overall impression

Every entry will receive comprehensive feedback from one of our Hollywood judges.

First Place wins $500.00, publication of their screenplay with Dizzy Emu Publishing, including royalties for life, horror movie merchandise, a framed winner’s certificate and a place in the 13Horror.com Hall of Fame.

Second Place wins $300.00, publication of their screenplay with Dizzy Emu Publishing, including royalties for life, horror movie merchandise, a framed winner’s certificate and a place in the 13Horror.com Hall of Fame.

 Third Place wins $200.00, publication of their screenplay with Dizzy Emu Publishing, including royalties for life, horror movie merchandise, a framed winner’s certificate and a place in the 13Horror.com Hall of Fame.

In addition to the above prizes, all screenplays which are awarded the status of Finalist will be eligible for a discounted publishing package.