$6,000 in Cash + Live Table Read + Career Development
A Table Read Will Give You an Advantage and is Critical to Success
With a professional table read, the Grand Prize Winner will gain insight into their script from a working director and trained actors while it's performed for a live audience. This is how Oscar-winning writers tighten their story, sharpen their dialogue and fine tune pacing, character and other important elements of their latest projects.
Elevate your scripts to be production ready!
Accepting Features, TV Pilots, Shorts & Web Series
in 6 Genre Categories
Prizes
1 Grand Prize
Winner
(Selected From Genre Winners)
Table Read
Experience a table read of your script with a professional director and actors.
Roundtable with Industry Executives
Participate in a roundtable discussion with the director, actors and industry execs following your table read. Learn More
ISA Development Slate Acceptance
Development Slate writers are championed to top agents, managers and producing contacts. Learn More
Pitch Practice & Guidance
This includes revision notes on the winning script and advice on pitch deck creation. Learn More
Industry Insight
Receive access to our industry contacts' current mandates plus development of a personalized producer outreach plan.
12-Year Copyright
Provided by Creators Vault
Professionally Designed Poster
Plus Genre Winners' Prizes
6 Genre
Winners
(Features / TV Pilots)
$1000 Cash Each
ISA Development Slate Consideration
ISAConnect Membership
12 months full access to the most comprehensive platform for screenwriters Learn More
Script Studio
Copy of the ultimate writer's toolbox, Script Studio
ScreenwriteNOW's "The Episode"
Consulting Package: Two 1-hr private video chat sessions to identify your blocks, clear the path and get you focused and in your writing rhythm and flow using Neuro-Energy Tapping. Learn More
8-Year Copyright
Provided by Creators Vault
Consideration for Grand Prize
1 of the 6 Genre Winners will be selected as the Grand Prize Winner
1 General Meeting with an Industry Pro
1-Year WrapPro Membership
$150 value provided by The Wrap
1 Short / Web Series
Grand Prize
Winner
$750 Cash
Recorded Performance of Your Script with Professional Actors
published on the Curious About Screenwriting Podcast Network
ISA Development Slate Consideration
Script Studio
Copy of the ultimate writer’s toolbox, Script Studio
12-Year Copyright
Provided by Creators Vault
1-Year WrapPro Membership
$150 value provided by The Wrap
TRMS Winner Staffed by HBO Max
Elaine Loh is currently staffed on the new Gossip Girl areboot 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.
TRMS Winning Short Premieres at Cannes
Denise Meyers Table Read-Winning script, The Dark of Night, directed by Robin Wright and starring Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb, is now a film and had its red carpet premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Meyers also optioned three projects with actor and producer Jay Ellis, who stars as Lawrence on HBO’S Insecure, and his producing partner, Aaron Bergman.
Unparalleled Career Development
As the Grand Prize Winner, you'll be considered for acceptance onto the ISA Development Slate where our team will get you and your script in front of producers, agents and managers. All 6 Genre Winners will also be considered for the ISA Development Slate.
Over 80 scripts from ISA Development Slate writers have been produced, optioned or sold.
Our industry partners include:
General Meetings with Industry Pros
6 Genre Winners will meet with the following agents, managers, producers and execs:
Sean Dubravac: Partner / Literary Manager with Entertainment Lab
Sean Dubravac is the Co-founder of Entertainment Lab, a bicoastal Talent Management and Production company, with locations in Beverly Hills, CA and Manhattan, NY. The company guides and develops careers of established actors, writers and directors in film, TV, theater, commercial, print and voice over work. The roster includes Academy Award, Emmy Award, BAFTA, GLAAD, AFI, Sundance, SXSW, Kids’ Choice Award and other festival and award contenders, nominees and winners. Additionally, the company’s literary department collaborates with other production houses on the packaging and development of film and TV projects.
Dennis Davidson: Chairman - DDA Public Relations, Exec Producer
DDA (the name was changed to DDA Public Relations Limited in 2003) has become the most successful entertainment industry public relations consultancy operating on a global scale. During his career, Davidson has long dealt with the biggest, most colourful names in the business. Whenever such iconic figures as Madonna, The Who, U2, Nicole Kidman, The Spice Girls and Sylvester Stallone made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival, Dennis and his team were invariably pulling the strings behind the scenes. He went to Buenos Aires with Freddie Mercury and Queen and brought The Rolling Stones and Bruce Willis to Berlin. He has worked with directors from Oliver Stone to Terrence Malick and with producers and moguls from Lew Grade to Chuck Roven.
Natalie Novak Remplakowski: President/Producer - Natalie Novak Films
Natalie is a producer based between Toronto and Brooklyn with broad experience in both scripted and nonfiction works for all platforms. Recent credits include the short-form digital comedic series THE COMMUNIST’S DAUGHTER written, created, and directed by Leah Cameron (LoCo Motion Pictures for CBC Gem). Natalie was an associate producer at Scythia Films from 2018 working under principal Daniel Bekerman on various projects including Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut, FALLING (2020), which premiered at Sundance 2020, was an official selection at the 73rd Edition of the Cannes Film Festival as well as TIFF 2020. Other notable credits include PERCY VS GOLIATH (2020), starring Christopher Walken, Christina Ricci, and Zach Braff, and SLASH/BACK (2022), an Arctic set sci-fi adventure about a group of teen Inuk girls that fight-off an alien invasion written and directed by Nyla Innuksuk.
Michaela Qvale: Manager TV Development at Miramax
Michaela is currently Manager of Development at Miramax TV, covering over twenty shows in various stages, including sales at Netflix, Paramount+ and Showtime and shows ordered to series with HBOMax and Apple. She first started her career producing the North Fork TV Festival, working with talent including showrunners such as Janine Sherman Barrois and Sarah Treem and actors such as Chris Noth. Since shifting into Development, Michaela has worked at The Gersh Agency, under the head of International TV and Packaging, and at CBS TV Studios in Streaming and Cable Current series on a slate that included DEAD TO ME (Netflix) and UNBELIEVABLE (Netflix) among other shows.
Matt Dy: Literary Mananger at Lit Entertainment
Matt Dy attended the University of Texas at Austin and received a Bachelor of Science in Radio/TV/Film with a focus on screenwriting and producing. He joined Adam Kolbrenner's Lit Entertainment Group as a literary manager in 2019. Previously, he worked at Austin Film Festival (AFF) since 2008 where he served as the Director of Script Competitions and facilitated the evaluation of thousands of annual script submissions. Through AFF, he helped shepherd the careers of countless writers and is thrilled to continue championing writers as a literary manager.
Ohad Ashkenazi: CEO at MiLa Media
Ohad (Odi) Ashkenazi is currently CEO at MiLa Media, a TV and Film production company in NY. Ashkenazi was responsible for the successful launch of the Israeli Comedy Central (on behalf of ViacomCBS). He then managed the channel for five years and became a member of Comedy Central's International Development Advisory Team. He continues to serve as SVP of International Development for Ananey Communications (a VicaomCBS company). He has developed dozens of scripts and formats, some of which were sold worldwide. His films and shows can be seen on Netflix, Nickelodeon and more. One of his scripted developments resulted in an International Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series.
Past Seasons Have Included Execs From:
Professionally Designed Movie Poster
The Grand Prize Winner will receive a poster of their script for use in lookbooks, pitch packets and more.
Posters for past winning scripts include:
“Winning Table Read…changed the trajectory of my career and amplified my hard work in ways both wonderful and unexpected. I’ve pushed deep into the space where my writing goals have been – I found some amazing representation at Magnet Management and been hired to write two TV movies.”
~R.B. RIPLEY (TRMS NEW ORLEANS)
- 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 two 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.
- 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.
- 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 a writers scripts place in the same prize category, they 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.
- 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 – 120 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 120 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 120 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, likeness and voice 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 submitting to this contest, your email address will be added to the contest database as well as the International Screenwriters' Association newsletter for weekly updates, contest promotions and other notifications. You may unsubscribe at any time.
- It is our full intention to fulfill all prizes as posted. However, due to any unlikely “force majeure” event (whether an act of God or otherwise), we reserve the right to update or edit prizes in our sole and absolute discretion, including, without limitation, the right to move any prizes and/or packages to an online format.
- By selecting ‘I have Read and Understand the Contest Rules’ on the entry page and submitting, the writer agrees to all of these rules.