An Unparalleled Table Read Experience
With a professional table read during the Sundance Film Festival, the Grand Prize Winner will gain insight into their script from a working director and trained actors as it is rehearsed and performed, then showcased for a live audience. Past winners have been staffed, premiered at Cannes and been nominated for an Oscar among other successes.
The Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000 cash, a trip to Park City, Sundance film tickets and consideration for the ISA Development Slate. Writers on the Slate are championed by the development team to producers, literary representatives and other industry executives from companies like CAA, Gidden Media, MGM, ICM, and more.
Prizes
(Features & TV Pilots)
Grand Prize Winner
$1,000 Cash
Trip to Park City
Flight and accommodations to Park City during the Sundance Film Festival
Table Read
Experience a live table read of your script with a professional director and actors.
ISA Development Slate Consideration
Development Slate writers are championed to top agents, managers and producing contacts. Learn More
16-Year Copyright
Provided by Creators Vault
Professionally Designed Poster
Two 1-Hour Sessions with Suzanne Gundersen of ScreenwriteNOW
Suzanne mentors screenwriters and industry creatives to clear the path that lets their writing flow. Learn More
Script Studio 's Hollywood Hits
Scene by scene breakdowns and analysis of popular Hollywood movies to use with Script Studio screenwriting software. Learn More
Scriptation
1 year license of Scriptation industry Pro - a premium toolkit which unlocks all the advanced features Scriptation has to offer Learn More
12-Month ISAConnect Membership
Access to the most comprehensive platform for screenwriters. Learn More
Top 10 Finalists
10-Year Copyright
Provided by Creators Vault
Script Studio
Copy of the ultimate writer's toolbox, Script Studio
1-Hour session with Suzanne Gundersen of ScreenwriteNOW
Suzanne mentors screenwriters and industry creatives to clear the path that lets their writing flow. Learn More
Scriptation
3-month license of Scriptation industry Pro - a premium toolkit which unlocks all the advanced features Scriptation has to offer. Learn More
ISAConnect Membership
6 months full access to the most comprehensive platform for screenwriters. Learn More
Consideration for Grand Prize
1 of the 10 Finalists will be selected as the Grand Prize Winner
Deadlines
Early: August 24th
Regular: September 28th
Final: November 9th
Extended: November 22nd
Announcements
Quarter-Finalists
December 5th
Semi-Finalists
December 14th
Finalists - Top 10
December 28th
Grand Prize Winner
December 28th
Table Read Winner Success
Table Read Winning Script Produced
After winning Table Read My Screenplay, Annika Pampel was invited onto the ISA Development Slate and named a Top 25 Screenwriter to Watch. This week, it was announced in Deadline that Annika Pampel's film ODIUM is slated to shoot in January, produced by Markeba Media Group and Ardvella Entertainment. Annika will also be directing and making her directorial feature debut.
Table Read Winner 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.
Table Read 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.
Table Read 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.
Table Read Winner Hired
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.
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:
Meet the Director: Ria Pavia
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)
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.
- Those that receive free feedback are not eligible to receive a free resubmission, which comes as an option with purchased feedback, unless otherwise noted in a promotion.
- Eligible resubmissions will be honored in the succeeding contest.
- Table Read My Screenplay cannot guarantee feedback will be received within enough time to resubmit within the same contest.
- 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 is declared a Semi-Finalist, 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, 2nd or 3rd Place overall winner (if applicable), 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.
- TRMS is not affiliated directly with the Sundance Film Festival. Winner passes and access to the festival does not imply an association or additional access.
- TRMS does not use any form of artificial intelligence software (“AI”) in connection with its provision of the Services including, without limitation, reviewing your screenplays, loglines and/or other content, which includes feedback.