Please read and comply with the following submission guidelines:
Contest applicants must be enrolled as full-time students (at least 12 credits for undergrad and 6 credits for graduate students) at Brigham Young University in either semester of the 2023-2024 school year. No applicant may have worked as a professional screenwriter for theatrical films or sold screen or television rights to any original story, treatment, screenplay or teleplay.
Prize money for this competition is $1,850. In addition, some scripts will have the opportunity of being considered (1) as part of the TMA Writers Conference, or (2) for potential departmental production.
Contest Categories:
—Short Script – Submit a 1 to 8 page tightly crafted script that could be considered viable for an on-campus student film. Samples of student films can be checked out from the HBLL.
—Scripted Web or Podcast Series – Submit a single episode from a web or scripted podcast series, not to exceed 8 pages. Your cover page, under the title, must indicate whether the script is a web or podcast series.
—Television or Spec Script – Submit the first 10 pages of a completed episode for an existing 30-minute television sitcom in current production; or, the first 10 pages of an original 30-minute television episode.
1. Each student may submit up to three entries. Though scripts selected for AFP production are not eligible, scripts not yet submitted for AFP consideration are eligible. For each entry the student will submit their scripts individually online at:
2. Submissions must comply with standard screenplay formatting. If you have questions regarding formatting, see the Screenwriter’s Bible (D. Trottier). Adaptations are not accepted for this competition. Submissions must be the original work of the applicant and may not be based, in whole or in part, on any other persons’ fictional material, published or unpublished; OR, if the script is a television spec episode, writers must identify the name of the sitcom and the current network airing the series in the Mayhew Submission Sheet. Scripts that fail to comply with standard formatting or page length requirements are disqualified and will not be reviewed.
3. For collaborative submissions, all collaborators must comply with the full-time student requirements. Awards will be split among the collaborators.
4. Each script must have a title page with the title of the script, the category of the script, and the student’s BYU ID number. If it is a collaborative effort, the submitter’s BYU ID number will be listed first. No author’s name should appear on the script or title page, just on the submission form. The pages must be numbered. No additional materials should be attached to the script (i.e. letters or recommendation, alternate pages, mention of awards, etc.). Entries submitted incorrectly are disqualified and will not be reviewed.
5. Submissions will be accepted between January 8th and March 1st, 2024. Winners will be announced in early April.
Judging will be conducted by the TMA Writing Committee. The standards for evaluation will include assessments of:
—Brevity and Efficiency
—Character
—Tension/Conflict
—Subtext
—Dialogue (if dialogue is an aspect the script)
—Causation (occurrences are not simply linear)
—Visualization and Juxtaposition
—Research/Plausibility
All scripts are to be created in accordance with the values and standards associated with the University Honor Code and the TMA Viewing and Creation Policy (available online). This is not to say that a script needs to be overtly religious or that it cannot examine challenging issues; it is simply a reminder that gratuitously offensive material will not be considered.
Important note: In addition to the specific rules above for the Screenwriting Contest, see the “General Regulations” giving information on all Mayhew Student Creative Contests. Both the general regulations and the specific rules for each contest should be followed by every student who enters one or more of the contests.
To submit, visit http://bit.ly/mayhewscreenwriting
Contest Contact Information
Thomas Russell, TMA Writing Committee Chair
Office: 168 WCO
Email: Thomas_Russell@byu.edu
Office phone: 801-422-1887