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Featuring a jury of industry professionals from top companies. The Launch Pad Pilot competition also features four mentorship opportunities plus guaranteed signing and development opportunities.

Opening next season
Remind Me

Current Season Dates

Announcements

Mar 22, 2024
Top 100
May 10, 2024
Top 50
May 24, 2024
Top 10
Feb 23, 2024
Second Rounder
Jun 21, 2024
Winner
Jun 21, 2024
Top Drama
Jun 21, 2024
Top Comedy
Jun 21, 2024
Mentorship Selection

Writer Testimonials

Here's how our competitions and industry connections have helped Launch Pad writers take their careers to the next level, in their own words.

LaunchPad was instrumental in helping submit my material and set up meetings for me as I was looking for a new manager. Their team was dedicated, enthusiastic, and tireless in their process, and I couldn’t be more grateful for their support!

Josh Chesler

Josh Chesler

Signed with a literary manager

Launch Pad has been so professional, helpful, communicative, and seems to truly care about the writers who submit their work to them! I have felt very supported throughout the process.

Allison Minick

Allison Minick

Signed with a literary manager

The Launch Pad did everything I could ask for...there's not too much else the competition could have done for me.

Taylor Hopkins

Taylor Hopkins

Signed with a literary manager

Winning Top Comedy in Launch Pad's Pilot Competition was a pivotal moment in my career-- within months I was represented by a major management company, pitching to top tier producers like Apatow Productions and Conaco. Launch Pad provided me with a huge boost, and for that I am extremely grateful!

Ivy Johnson

Ivy Johnson

Signed with a manager & developing original pilot with MGM Television

The Launch Pad Pilot Competition and its diligent team helped “Angels of War” to gain visibility and traction. I am grateful for the opportunities provided to competition winners to meet with various industry reps and producers.

Natalie Bergman

Natalie Bergman

Signed with a manager

Launch Pad has been an invaluable resource for reaching my career screenwriting goals.They not only provided a platform through the contest, but put me in touch with industry players, answered any questions I had, and aided my writing career with a personally-focused approach. A must-enter contest for aspiring screenwriters.

Alex Ovadal

Alex Ovadal

Signed with a literary manager

What’s great about the Launch Pad writing contest, is that you don’t have to win to come out a winner. My script Happy Little Accidents made it into the top 100 but didn’t advance further, and yet I was chosen for their mentorship program. They truly take all scripts and screenwriters into consideration and are looking for writers that are passionate and ready for the next step in their career.

Andy Erikson

Andy Erikson

Signed with a literary manager

Launching Careers

For over a decade, the Launch Pad Competitions have led to more signings, success stories and careers than any other screenwriting competition.

Our prestigious juries of industry members include managers, agents, producers and executives at companies across Hollywood.

We advocate for top finalists and winners, and share their work with the right industry members to advance their career. We also offer exclusive partnerships with management and production companies to give writers an extra leg up. 

Enter now for a chance to join this tradition of Launch Pad success.

Meet the Jury

Andrew Kersey

Kersey Management | Founder, Manager, Producer

Andrew Kersey is a literary manager with a focus on nurturing unique storytelling voices in film and TV. In 2021, his client's comedy VACATION FRIENDS starring John Cena and Lil Rel was Hulu's biggest 3-day weekend opener for an original in the streamer's history at the time. The sequel just wrapped. Another recent success is the sale of his client’s sci-fi spec, VARIETAL, to Universal with Mike De Luca, the Oscar-nominated producer behind THE SOCIAL NETWORK and the FIFTY SHADES OF GREY movies. His incredibly talented clients have projects at all the major studios as well as streamers Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. In tv, his clients have sold projects to and worked for networks and cable channels such as ABC, Fox, NBC, CW, AMC’s ALLBLK, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and WGN America. His clients’ projects have been packaged — and many sold — with such top tier talent as Sandra Bullock, The Rock, Lil Rel, Chris Pratt, Anna Faris, Ice Cube, Sylvester Stallone, Zach Galifianakis, Maggie Q and Adam Scott.

Braxton Rickert

Lee Stobby Entertainment | Manager

Braxton is a literary manager at Lee Stobby Entertainment, the company that represents writers such as Kate Trefry (Stranger Things, Fear Street), Shay Hatten (Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves, John Wick 3) and Isaac Adamson (Bubbles, Chippendales).

Chris Coggins

Heroes and Villains Entertainment | Manager

Chris Coggins began her career directly after graduation from USC School for Cinematic Arts working as a Creative Assistant at Escape Artists/Sony Pictures, where she assisted on productions The Pursuit of Happyness, The Weather Man, The Taking of Pelham 123, Knowing and The Great Debaters. She also secured the scripts for and co-produced The Back-Up Plan and Hope Springs. Coggins then moved on to working at Allison Shearmur Productions at Lionsgate, where she developed Pride, Prejudice and Zombies and Cinderella. She worked at Rock Paper Scissors Entertainment as Head of Development and at Luc Besson’s studio EuropaCorp. She recently moved into management at Heroes and Villains Entertainment representing writers, actors, directors and wellness professionals.

Jamie Wager

Capital Creations | Principal

Jamie Wager is the principal at Capital Creations, where he focuses on TV writers. Current clients include Maria Ferrari, creator of UNITED STATES OF AL; Shawn Simmons whose show WAYNE currently airs on Amazon; Jon Worley, currently a CO-EP on RAISED BY WOLVES at HBO Max, and who’s adapting “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” for Miramax TV; and Sheila Wilson who wrote on both season of WARRIOR NUN on Netflix, and in between as a story editor Marvel’s HELSTROM for Hulu. Jamie was VP of Television at Alcon Entertainment, Director of Current Programming at the WB Network, Director of Comedy at 20th Television before starting his own management company.

Jay Glazer

Neon Kite | Manager, Producer

Jay Glazer is a manager/producer who represents creatives in film, theatre, and television. Jay studied business and film at The University of Southern California. While studying, he worked at Brillstein Entertainment Partners & The Gersh Agency, where he started his professional career. After a decade in management, Jay departed Roar to found Neon Kite, where he represents screenwriters, directors, and actors, as well as actively develops projects. His debut feature, Get Luke Lowe, stars Emma McDonald premiered in 2020. He is currently in development with Mandalay Pictures, H2L, Storied Media Group, and Storyboard Entertainment.

Katie Zipkin-Leed

Artists First | Literary Coordinator

Katie Zipkin-Leed is a Los Angeles native who started her journey in the Industry with internships at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and United Talent Agency (UTA). After graduating from Tulane University, where she doubled majored in Marketing and Legal Studies in Business, she officially started her career in the mailroom at UTA, eventually landing a role in the TV Talent department. During the pandemic, Katie transitioned over to management, taking a position at Artists First. During this time, she worked for two separate senior literary partners before being promoted in December 2022. Katie’s clients have projects in development with production companies such as Pacific Electric Picture Company, Original Film, Broken Road, and Room 101 amongst others.

Lindsey Walko

Citizen Skull | Creative Executive

Lindsey joined Citizen Skull Productions in 2020, first working in their non-scripted department before transitioning over to scripted development in 2021. Recent projects include Street Gang for HBO, Glorious for Shudder, and Collision for Netflix. CSP Management currently represents writers, directors, producers, show creators, showrunners, and on-camera talent. They have writers staffed on major network shows, and creators with content on a plethora of outlets and development deals at ABC, SONY, and various streamers.

Mahak Jiwani

Jigsaw Productions | Scripted Executive

Mahak Jiwani is a scripted exec at Jigsaw Productions where she sources and develops compelling and diverse stories. Originally from Pakistan, Jiwani has produced short films all over the world which have won awards at Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, SXSW and Huesca Film Festival. She has also worked in production capacities on award-winning features like PORNO and DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD. Her work has received support from Focus Features and IFP. She is a graduate of the Creative Producing program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Art.

MJ Grogan

ACE Content | Director of Development

MJ Grogan is the Director of Development at ACE Content where he develops and produces a slate of feature films, scripted television, feature documentaries, and docu-series. Prior to joining ACE, MJ served as the Director of Story and Development at Legendary Entertainment where he worked on films such as DUNE, ENOLA HOLMES, and the upcoming sequel to the beloved classic A CHRISTMAS STORY. Before joining Legendary, MJ was a producer on the PGA winning and Emmy Nominated docu-series Vice: World of Sports on the Viceland network.

Shelby Eggers

Lit Entertainment Group | Coordinator

Shelby Eggers (she/her) works at Lit Entertainment Group, a management and production company known for features FREE GUY and THE TOMORROW WAR and TV series RAISED BY WOLVES and PROMISED LAND. Previously, Shelby worked with the showrunner of two prime-time broadcast shows and in development at Ellen Pompeo’s Calamity Jane Entertainment. Originally from Atlanta, Shelby is now based in Los Angeles.

Zach Cox

Circle of Confusion | Manager

Zach Cox is a Sierra Nevada-loving Chico State graduate and Northern California native who’s been at Circle of Confusion (management & production company) for over 16.5 years now. He started as an intern in the Fall of 2006 and became a manager by the Fall of 2010. Zach has an unquenchable thirst for character-driven stories regardless of genre and believes great storytelling is a gift that can be honed but not outright taught. If it were entirely teachable, he would be a writer and not a manager.

Zack Zucker

Bellevue Productions | Literary Manager

Zack Zucker is a Literary Manager at Bellevue Productions. Prior to joining Bellevue, Zack worked at Google, United Talent Agency, and Twentieth Century Fox. On the feature side, his clients have placed #1 on the 2020 and 2021 Black Lists, won the Nicholl Fellowship, and had films premiere at Sundance, TIFF, and Tribeca. On the TV side, his clients have written on such series as FBI: International, How We Roll, Black Lightning, AJ & the Queen, & Flatbush Misdemeanors. As a producer, his feature, THE NOVICE, premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won multiple awards including Best US Narrative. The film went on to sell to IFC Films and was nominated for five Indie Spirit Awards, including Best Feature.

Prizes with Results

Grand Prize | Top 3 Winners

Everything the Top 10 receive, plus…

  • Each of the competition winners will be invited to an exclusive yearly virtual event where they will get the chance to meet with and pitch industry professionals from management companies, agencies and production companies in a 1:1 setting. Past participants included MGM, Scott Free, Verve, Bellevue, Lit Entertainment, WME, and more.

 

Top 10

Everything the Top 50 receive, plus…

  • Your work will be read, reviewed and voted on by our esteemed Judges.
  • One free entry to any future Launch Pad Competition of your choosing.

 

Top 50

Everything the Top 100 receive, plus…

  • One year free membership to the Tracking Board.

 

Top 100

  • Your project and writer profile will be shared and marketed to our extensive industry networks.

Let's Talk Guarantees

Guaranteed Signing Prize | 1 Winner

  • A Minimum of 1 writer will be selected for representation by our exclusive signing partner.
  • To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Guaranteed Signing” add-on or make it to the Top 10 of the competition to be considered for this prize opportunity.
  • This prize, as with all add-on prizes is not decided upon by placement in the competition. Regardless of whether the project entered makes any finalist round, your project will still be in contention for this prize until the competition ends.

 

Mentorship Program Selections | 4 Winners

  • A Minimum of 4 writers (1 per mentor) will be selected by our mentors to enter our Launch Pad Pilot Mentorship Program.
  • To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Mentorship Program” add-on or make it to the Top 10 of the competition to be considered for this prize opportunity.
  • This prize, as with all add-on prizes, is not decided upon by placement in the competition. Regardless of whether the project entered makes any finalist round, your project will still be in contention for this prize until the competition ends.

 

Guaranteed Development Prize | 1 Winner

  • A Minimum of 1 project will be selected by our development partner to receive a development opportunity for their Launch Pad project.
  • To qualify for this prize, entrants must have selected the “Guaranteed Development” add-on or make it to the Top 10 of the competition to be considered for this prize opportunity.
  • This prize, as with all add-on prizes is not decided upon by placement in the competition. Regardless of whether the project entered makes any finalist round, your project will still be in contention for this prize until the competition ends.

Guaranteed Signing

With O. Valerie Nicolas

THORO Artists is a bespoke management/production company representing cutting-edge creatives & crafting thought-provoking content. O. Valerie Nicolas is a 20-year entertainment industry veteran and prolific content producer whose works include television, film, new media and podcasts. As Principal of Ol’ Soul Pictures, she has produced several projects including The Black Beauty Effect, Brown with Blue, The Department of…Ed, the mater mea podcast and the 2022 SXSW award-winning short, Glitter Ain’t Gold. Prior to venturing into TV/Film, Valerie managed music artists, coordinated music conferences, and even owned an independent record label. The start of 2021 began a new chapter in her career when she co-founded the literary management and production company, THORO Artists.

Requires Add-On or Top 10 placement

Pilot Mentorship Program

Requires Add-On in Checkout

The best way to learn is by working with experienced writers who have already navigated that path to success. That is exactly what the Launch Pad mentorship opportunity is set up to do.

Amadou Diallo

TV and screenwriter Amadou Diallo is a Renaissance man with a career that has spanned multiple art forms. He's toured and recorded as a jazz musician, had solo photography exhibitions and his journalism has appeared in The Washington Post, The Atlantic and the PBS NewsHour. Since breaking into the industry in 2021, Amadou has been staffed on season seven of Billions (Showtime), Parish (AMC) and In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr. (Hulu). Amadou is a former Mentorship Matters fellow, a Launch Pad writing alum himself, and is currently represented by Gersh and FWRD MGMT.

Elle Triedman

Elle Triedman grew up in Rhode Island wanting to be a spy but traded the world of espionage for the chance to write for television. Most recently she served as Executive Producer/Showrunner on the second season of CRUEL SUMMER. She has written and produced shows across a myriad of genres, from procedurals to sci-fi to YA. Her many credits include POWER BOOK IV: FORCE, SIREN, DEVIOUS MAIDS, REVENGE and COLD CASE. She lives in Los Angeles.

Gabriel L. Feinberg

A previous Launch Pad finalist himself, Gabriel L. Feinberg grew up in the Boston suburbs, where he was regularly told to go outside. Deprived of the television and fantasy books he so desperately wanted, Gabriel found teenage rebellion in binging Battlestar Galactica and reading all 14 Wheel of Time novels multiple times over, unlocking his passion for writing science-fiction and fantasy. A former NBC Page and assistant on Fox’s THE FOLLOWING, Gabriel currently relies more on science than fiction as an Executive Story Editor on Dick Wolf’s hit NBC drama CHICAGO MED which recently wrapped its eighth season.

Simon Barry

Simon Barry is a Vancouver based Writer/Director who is the Creator and Showrunner of ‘WARRIOR NUN’, the award winning and critically acclaimed Netflix series. He is also the Creator/Showrunner of the Saturn Award winning ‘CONTINUUM’, which ran for 4 seasons on SyFy. Other series include ‘BAD BLOOD’ (Rogers/Netflix), ‘GHOST WARS’ (SyFy) and ‘VAN HELSING’ (SyFy).

Guaranteed Development

With Miguel Ángel Faura

Miguel Ángel Faura is producer at Nostromo Pictures, whose production credits include “Red Lights” starring Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, and Robert De Niro; “Grand Piano” starring Elijah Wood and screenplay by Damien Chazelle; and “Down a Dark Hall” starring AnnaSophia Robb and Uma Thurman. Their recent credits include the Spanish language Netflix projects “Bird Box Barcelona,” “Through My Window” and its sequel “Through My Window: Across the Sea” as well as the series “Santo.” Miguel’s individual production credits also include Denis VIlleneuve’s “Enemy” starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

Requires Add-On or Top 10 placement

Submission Guidelines

The winners will be chosen based on the following criteria: (i) The originality and commerciality of the premise; (ii) The effectiveness of the plot and structure in serving that premise; (iii) The professional quality and creative use of the writing, formatting and presentation; (iv) The use of dialogue to advance the character, story and entertainment value of the project; (v) The originality, believability and emotional investment in the characters and their impact on the overarching story and themes.

Initial reads will be completed by professional industry readers, after which the top scored scripts will be named to a Second Round. At this point, our internal team of readers will read all remaining submissions to allow for extensive internal discussions over the relative merits and weaknesses of each project. Through internal conferences, we narrow down a list of 100 finalists. At this point, writers may be asked to submit supplemental information (a brief bio, a bible for their tv pilot, etc.) to assist in the decision making process. 

Further rounds of internal reading and discussion, as well as consultations with our signing and option partners, narrows the finalists down to 10, at which point our panel of industry judges read the scripts and determine our winners. 

Any entrant may be deemed ineligible at the sole discretion of Launch Pad. We reserve the right to amend these rules at any time.

Successes from a few Top 100's

Ivy Johnson

After winning Top Comedy in the Launch Pad Pilot Competition for WHAT'S GRANDDAD, Ivy Johnson went on to sell pilots to Apatow Productions and MGM after being introduced by Launch Pad.

Liz Storm

Liz Storm's Launch Pad PIlot finalist script led to her having a project set up with Karen Gillan and Awkwafina attached to star

Sarah Lampert

Following her Top 25 placement for her pilot I LOVE COLLEGE, Sarah Lampert signed with UTA and Writ Large and went on to sell her original pilot GINNY & GEORGIA to Netflix.

Jess Harris-Distefano

Fresh off her Top 10 placement in the Pilot Competition for her script THE DISAPPEARANCE, Jess Harris-Distefano signed with agent Brad Rosenfeld at Culture Creative Entertainment and manager Adrian Garcia at Recon Literary. THE DISAPPEARANCE went on to be set up at Warner Bros. TV with Castle Rock producing and Rob Reiner attached to executive produce.

Ahmadu Garba

After placing as a finalist in both the feature and pilot competitions, Ahmadu Garba went on to be staffed on such shows as HAPPY!, THE SINNER and DR. DEATH, before selling his original pilot NIGERIA 2099 to AMC earlier this year.

Rules

  1. All scripts MUST BE submitted as a PDF.
  2. All pilot scripts must be under 70 pages (any script with more than 70 pages will be charged an additional $1 per page) 
  3. Do not submit any form of pitch document with your pilot script.
  4. Do not include any identifying information (name, address, etc) on any page of your submission EXCEPT for the Title Page, which will be removed before sharing with readers to preserve anonymity. As such, the Title Page can include any information you would like. 
  5. Scripts with multiple writers are allowed (however, all entry fees must be paid under one account and all prizes to be shared among writing partners).
  6. All submissions must be the sole property of the writer(s). Any submissions of existing characters and or stories not in the public domain, as well as any intellectual property that the writer does not own will be disqualified.
  7. Pilots with a prior option are allowed, but at the time of submission and for the duration of the contest, must remain exclusively the writer’s property.
  8. The only scripts not allowed to be entered are those which have already sold, been produced, have previously earned our “TB Recommends” or “Launch Pad Recommends” honors, or received a Top 50 placement in a previous Launch Pad competition, regardless of format.
  9. Launch Pad uses Coverfly to manage our submissions and reads. Updated drafts accepted through the Coverfly website only.
  10. The Launch Pad and all judges/readers will utilize whatever criteria they deem appropriate in deciding a winner.
  11. All scripts will remain the property of the writer(s) throughout the contest (at no point will anyone from the judge’s panel, or Launch Pad ever attach themselves to your work without your consent).
  12. Entrants may be contacted as a result of the contest by Launch Pad, its partners, the judging panel or other industry professionals in regards to representation, production, sale and/or option of the entered work.
  13. Entrants are under no obligation to sell their work or otherwise attach themselves to representation in any form – this includes the guaranteed option and guaranteed signing add ons
  14. General script entries will not receive feedback, however, you can opt to upgrade and receive feedback on your script submission.
  15. The contest is open to entrants who will be 18 or older at the time of the winners announcement. It is an international contest and open to entrants worldwide.
  16. The Launch Pad reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify these terms at any time without notice.
  17. By entering this competition, you agree to receive periodic emails from The Launch Pad and The Tracking Board. You may unsubscribe to these at any time.
  18. All entrants understand and agree to allow Launch Pad to post details on their script (title, writers name, logline, genre, and competition details) as well as regarding the writer (biography, picture) to their site, or sister site to help promote the entrants’ work.
  19. By entering the competition, entrants are acknowledging their eligibility for the competition. The vast majority of entrants enter in good faith, and validating everyone at the entry stage would be inefficient and take away from efforts reading and finding the best scripts. Therefore, we check eligibility at the Top 100 Finalist stage, which allows us to confirm eligibility prior to winner selection. If an issue comes to our attention earlier, we will address eligibility issues in earlier rounds on a case-by-case basis.
  20. All purchases and submissions are final. No refunds will be issued.
  21. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
  22. Except where prohibited by law, participation in the contest constitutes each entrant’s consent to LaunchPad and its agents’ and contest sponsor’s use of entrants’ names, likenesses, photographs, and/or personal information for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without further payment or consideration. All uses of a entrants’ information are in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
  23. Employees of the Launch Pad and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. Any such submission will be immediately disqualified.
  24. You agree to release and hold harmless LaunchPad, its subsidiary, parent and affiliated companies, prize contributors, judges, readers, sponsors, and any other organizations responsible for administering, advertising, or promoting the competition, and every one of their respective members, directors, employees, agents and representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) past and present from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to damages and negligence to property and persons, including but not limited to invasion of privacy, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, copyright, infringement of trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to a participant’s entry, participation in the competition and/or acceptance or use or misuse of prize; provided however, that such release will not apply to any commercial exploitation of the script by a Released Party in violation of your rights under applicable copyright law; and (c) indemnify, defend and hold harmless the LaunchPad and its sponsors, agents, and employees from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys fees) relating to an entrant’s participation in the competition and/or entrant’s use or misuse of Prize.

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