Kairos Prize 2026
Movieguide's faith and values prize wants uplifting features and pilots built on biblical principles, with one track for beginners and one for working professionals.
closes today
Competition Online
Shore Scripts Short Film Fund (Fall)
Twice a year Shore Scripts funds short films from scripts sent in by writers anywhere, with a USD 15,000 production grant for one script and USD 4,000 to help finish a film already shot. Entries must be in English, and every submission gets brief notes. Scripts of 2 to 30 pages fit the rules.
Final deadline Oct 30, 2026 (closes in 10 days)
The listed dates have passed. We check the organizer's page every day and add the next dates once they are published.
Dates
| Deadline | Date | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Early | Aug 20, 2026 passed | USD 39 |
| Regular | Sep 30, 2026 passed | USD 49 |
| Final | Oct 30, 2026 | USD 59 |
Deadlines are as the organizer states them. Check the time zone on the official page.
At a glance
- Entry fee
- From $59Final tier, the only one still open
- Formats
- Short
- Language
- English
- Where
- Online
- Who can apply
- Writers from any country with an English-language narrative short, live action or animated, proof-of-concept shorts included. Writers who earned over USD 50,000 from screenwriting in the past 12 months, earlier grand prize, second place and finishing funds winners, and staff or judges cannot enter. A project that starts shooting before winners are announced loses its claim to the production grant.
- Prizes
- Production grant: USD 15,000 plus producer mentorship, festival strategy, camera rental and a festival guidebook. Finishing funds: USD 4,000 plus post-production notes and support. Top-five and finalist scripts get notes and may go to Shore's directors roster.
What to send
- Length
- 2 to 30 pages; up to 45 pages for USD 1 per extra page
- File
- Title page
- Title only on the cover page; leaving identifying details there does not disqualify, but removing them is preferred.
- Your name on the script
- Allowed
- Also asked for
- Standard format in 12-point Courier. A screenplay is required; treatments, decks and videos cannot replace it. Finishing funds entries send a cut of 40 minutes or less by streaming link, with English subtitles if needed.
Need your pages in standard screenplay format first? The free screenplay formatter lays them out and saves a PDF.
What it gives besides money
Every entry gets brief notes on the script; the production grant winner also gets mentoring from a named producer and festival strategy support.
More competitions
13th Annual Search for New Blood Screenwriting Contest
A horror contest for features and pilots, run by Stage 32 for the 13th time.
closes tomorrow
CineStory TV Retreat & Fellowship 2027
This pilot contest leads to a five-day retreat in Idyllwild, California, in late April 2027, where the writers invited from the top rounds work one-on-one with industry mentors.
closes in 5 days
Fall 2026 WriteMovies Screenwriting Contest
WriteMovies, set up in Hollywood in 1999, runs a fall and a spring round.
closes in 5 days
Also in Online
Stage 32 8-Part Screenwriting Lab: Write your Sci-Fi or Fantasy Script in 8 Weeks
Six Saturday classes on Zoom and two private consultations take a writer with a sci-fi, fantasy or supernatural idea from logline to a revised draft.
starts in 4 days
Stage 32 8-Part Screenwriting Lab: Write Your TV Animation
Evan Anglin, who co-heads the animation department at Zero Gravity Management, leads this eight-week Sunday lab on Zoom for writers with an animated series in mind.
starts in 5 days
Rewriting Your Screenplay and Crafting Your Pitch
Writers who already have a full feature draft spend eight weekly Zoom classes revising it with screenwriter Jen Harrington, on Wednesday mornings Pacific time from December into February.
closes in 7 days
Stage 32 Screenwriting Lab: Write a Comedy TV Pilot in 6 Weeks - From Concept To Completed Script (October 2026)
In this six-week lab, literary manager Spencer Robinson of Art/Work Entertainment gives notes on a comedy pilot's outline, each act and the full draft.
starts in 11 days