Let US Take YOU to AFM!
A Career-Launching Experience at AFM and Beyond
Past Table Read winners have been staffed and their projects have been optioned, premiered at Cannes and been nominated for Oscars among other successes.
Why Every Screenwriter Needs a Table Read — And How It Launches Careers
There’s a moment in every screenwriter’s journey when the script on the page needs to become something more—something real. You’ve stared at the words, revised them, heard them in your head a thousand times. But it isn’t until those words are spoken—by real actors, in real time—that you truly understand what’s working and what isn’t. That’s where the table read becomes an invaluable tool in the development process.
Whether you’re fine-tuning dialogue, assessing pacing, or discovering new dimensions of your characters, a table read provides insight no software, structure book, or screenwriting course ever could.
And when it’s done right, with professional actors and a high-quality recording, a table read isn’t just a tool—it’s a proof of concept. That’s the powerful idea behind Table Read My Screenplay, a unique competition that turns your screenplay into a presentation-ready performance—and puts it in front of the very people who can help bring it to life.
Here are 8 key reasons why a table read may be the most important next step for your screenplay:
8 KEY REASONS - READ HEREGrand Prize Winner Gets to Pitch at AFM
Past Pitch Panelists have included some of the industry's most respected producers and executives, including Effie Brown, Cassian Elwes, Jeffrey Greenstein, Elizabeth Haggard, Lorelle Lynch, and Michael Ryan
About the American Film Market® (AFM®)
The AFM is where the global film and television business comes to life every November. The only independently produced international sales market, hundreds of finance, production, sales and distribution companies and thousands of professionals from every segment of the industry, convene at AFM for six days of discovery, development, deal making, networking, marketplace discussions and world-class conferences.
The AFM is produced by the Independent Film & Television Alliance® (IFTA®), the global trade association for independent film and television production, finance, distribution, and sales companies. The organization represents the independent sector before governments and international bodies and provides significant entertainment industry services to independent companies around the world. For more information, please visit americanfilmmarket.com and ifta-online.org.
Prizes
(Features & TV Pilots)
1 Platinum Badge for the 2025 American Film Market (Valued at $1,295)
November 11 - 15th at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.
Opportunity to pitch live on stage during the AFM Pitch Conference
A distinguished panel will provide candid, constructive feedback on strengths and areas for improvement.
Table Read Performance
Experience a live staged reading of your script with a professional director and actors.
Trip to Hollywood
Flight and accommodations will be provided.
Meeting with ISA Development Executive
Writers chosen for the ISA Development Slate are championed to top agents, managers, and producing contacts. Learn More
Two 1-Hour Consultation Sessions with Suzanne Gundersen of ScreenwriteNOW
Suzanne mentors screenwriters and industry creatives to clear the path that lets their writing flow. Learn More
Interview with Film Inquiry
The go-to site for film journalism. Learn More
Scriptation
1-Year Subscription to Scriptation.
Custom Poster
12-Month ISAConnect Membership
Access to the most comprehensive platform for screenwriters. Learn More
Runner Up
1 Platinum Badge for the 2025 American Film Market (Valued at $1,295)
November 11 - 15th at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, CA.
Opportunity to pitch live on stage during the AFM Pitch Conference
A distinguished panel will provide candid, constructive feedback on strengths and areas for improvement.
Top Ten Finalists
ISA Development Slate Consideration
Development Slate writers are championed to top agents, managers, and producing contacts. Learn More
1-Hour Consultation with Suzanne Gundersen of ScreenwriteNOW
Suzanne mentors screenwriters and industry creatives to clear the path that lets their writing flow. Learn More
Scriptation Membership
3-Month membership to a premium toolkit which unlocks all the advanced features Scriptation has to offer.
Logline Review
Help with refining your logline so your script reaches the right audience.
Film Inquiry 1-year Membership
6-Month ISAConnect Membership
A comprehensive platform for screenwriters. Learn More
Consideration for Grand Prize
1 of the 10 Finalists will be selected as the Grand Prize Winner.
Last Year's Director: Regina Ainsworth
(Director, Writer and DGA Latino Committee Co-Chair)
Born of the theatre as an actress, dancer, writer and director, Regina has successfully transitioned her love of movement and character driven storytelling to filmmaking. Her passion for amplifying authentic experiences that can inspire positive social change is what drives her activism in both her leadership and cinematic worlds.
Regina is the DGA Latino Committee Co-Chair Emeritus, Co-Founder of los directores, a Guild-level collective of Latino directors and director’s team, founder of the DGA Latino Summit, and a member of the Television Academy Directors Peer Group.
Deadlines
Mega-Early: May 29th - $39
Early: June 19th - $59
Regular: July 10th - $69
Final Extended: August 21st - $89
Second Script is $39
Announcements
Quarter-Finalists
September 4th
Semi-Finalists
September 11th
Finalists - Top 10
September 25th
Grand Prize Winner & Runner Up
October 2nd
Table Read Winner Success
Slated to Shoot
After winning Table Read My Screenplay, Annika Pampel was invited onto the ISA Development Slate and named a Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch. Annika's film ODIUM is slated to shoot in 2025, produced by Markeba Media Group and Ardvella Entertainment. Annika will also be directing and making her directorial feature debut.
Shopping Agreement
Recent winner Emily Wahlund's project TWO IN A MILLION was put on a shopping agreement with Creative Screenwriter Productions, leading to further development meetings with Academy Award winning producer Lisa Bruce.
ISA Development Slate Invitation
Kirk Weddell was discovered by the ISA after being selected as the Table Read Horror/Sci-Fi Genre Winner and was invited onto the ISA Development Slate.
Staffed By Major Networks
After winning TRMS, Elaine Loh was announced as one of ISA's Top 25 Screenwriters to Watch. She has since been accepted into the HBO Access Writers Program, and staffed on the reboot of GOSSIP GIRL for HBO Max. She was recently promoted to Story Editor on DYNASTY for the CW.
TRMS Winner Gains Representation
Since winning TRMS, Derek Asaff has been signed by Lee Stobby Entertainment and was accepted into the Universal Writers Program. His competition-winning script THE WHEELMAN was optioned to Sony and Original FiIm.
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.
Hired After Table Read Event
After attending her winning table read, ROTU Entertainment hired Shane Elizabeth to write a script for their VR game and serve as a Script Supervisor during production. She was also hired by Datura Studios to write a biopic feature.
ISA Development Slate Invitation
Writing partners and Table Read Grand Prize Winners Adelita E. Lopez and Amanda Lopez were invited onto the ISA Development Slate following their win.
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.
Over 80 scripts from ISA Development Slate writers have been produced, optioned or sold.
Our industry partners include:
The Table Read Experience
“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)
Sponsored by:
- This competition is open to anyone except all employees, directors, associates, and immediate families of the Table Read My Screenplay Competition.
- We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national origin, color, sex, 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.
- 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.
- Promotional discounts or waivers offered may not apply on all submission platforms (i.e. ISA, Film Freeway).
- Once material has been entered, no substitutions of new drafts or corrections will be considered past 24 hours from original submission time and date. After this time the writer may fill in an entry form and pay the appropriate entry fee to submit any script revisions or changes as many times as they like up until the deadline.
- The writer understands that feedback can take up to 90 days turn-around time and may not be received before the end of the contest.
- TRMS Grand Prize winners from previous seasons may only submit to a contest city outside of the city in which they won and may only submit with a new screenplay.
- TRMS 2nd-10th Place Finalists may submit again with a completely different screenplay. Those who have placed as a top 10 (2nd-10th place overall) winner three times with three different screenplays in two different cities (3 in each city for a total of 6 placements) are ineligible to submit in any future contest season.
- Adaptations from other works are permissible provided the writer has the original author's written permission to adapt the work.
- Adaptations of works in the public domain are permissible, however the writer is responsible for the legalities of this.
- Collaborative work is eligible; the writers are responsible for the distribution of the contest prize(s).
- Writers under the age of 18 years old must have parent or legal guardian’s permission to participate.
- The work or submitted material must not be in a current option agreement, or may not have been previously sold or produced for profit.
- Writer understands and accepts without reservation that he/she is an independent contractor and that the contest administrators are not responsible for withholding any taxes or payments on prize money to any government agency, at any level, be it state, local or federal.
- Writer understands that it is his/her 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.
- Recommended length of work:
Feature – (70 – 120 pages), TV Pilots – (10 – 60 pages) - If a screenplay is submitted for feedback and is over 120 pages, an additional fee of $1 per page will apply and the contestant will be contacted and billed separately for the extra, or only the first 120 pages will be read.
- 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.
- Contestants may submit their screenplay to any other person, contest, producer, agent, publisher, and/or organization.
- Contestants retain all rights to their screenplay, subject to the terms and agreements contained herein.
- TRMS will only accept submissions if the writer assures us that to the best of their knowledge they are the sole originator of the idea and that they have the legal right to submit it for judging to TRMS.
- The writer understand that their logline and / or screenplay will be reviewed by our 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 the submission and hereby waives any claim that TRMS, its employees or judges may have misappropriated any ideas or portions of the submission logline or script.
- No agreement for compensation, other than the TRMS prizes listed, has been implied.
- If the writer wins an ISAConnect membership, the membership will auto-renew after the free term if they do not cancel it, and they will be billed the regular monthly fee.
- TRMS intends to submit the Finalists to respected producers with the writer's permission, which will be granted upon clicking the ‘I have Read and Understand the Contest Rules’ button. The writer can withdraw from this process at any time.
- When the writer's screenplay, application, and payment have all been received, they will be notified by email only. If the writer's email address changes, it is their responsibility to let us know.
- By entering this contest and in the event the writer / their screenplay places in the competition, they understand and accept that TRMS will be free to use their name and likeness for advertising or promotional purposes without additional consideration.
- If the writer is a GRAND PRIZE Winner, they agree to give TRMS permission to post their video or audio Table Read on its web site.
- All contest participants understand and agree with the following:
- TRMS reserves the right to award a cash prize, at its discretion. A Grand Prize 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. This includes local winners.
- International flight not to exceed $1,500. Domestic flight not to exceed $800. 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 $1500 / $800 limit.
- 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 contestants with offers to participate in any such production. Contestants are under no obligation to participate therein.
- Contest applicants must 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.
- There are no refunds for submissions at any time for any reason.
- Additional rules may be amended at the sole discretion of TRMS.
- By submitting to this contest, the writer's 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. The writer 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.