As part of the 2025 Books by the Bay Festival, which will be held in Pensacola on March 29, 2025, all screenwriters (and aspiring screenwriters) are invited to submit a screenplay to the Short-Film Screenwriting Contest. The contest will award cash prizes of $100, $75, and $50 to the top three entries, as judged by award-winning screenwriter and Books by the Bay keynote speaker Paul Sinor. The prizes are sponsored by Turtle Cove Press publisher M.R. Street, the 2024 President of Tallahassee Writers Association. In addition, the three winning screenplays will be read by actors at Books by the Bay.
Entries will be accepted at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Screenwriting-Contest. The entry fee is waived for members of ECW and TWA; entry fee for nonmembers is $20. Rules of the contest:
- One entry per person
- Must be an original screenplay that has never been published or presented
- Must follow standard screenplay format
- You must be at least 18 years old to enter, or be 16-17 years old with permission of a parent or guardian
- You are recommended to watch the recording of the 4-hour workshop led by Mr. Sinor. Register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Screenwriting-Workshop1
The contest is free for members of Tallahassee Writers Association and Emerald Coast Writers, $20 entry fee for others. The contest is limited to 35 participants. The contest closes Jan. 14, 2025, or when 35 people have registered, whichever comes first. If you have any questions, contact M.R. Street, publisher of Turtle Cove Press, at editor@turtlecovepress.com.