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Featuring a jury of 25 industry professionals from top companies. The Launch Pad Pilot competition has led to dozens of writers staffed on hit shows for Netflix, CBS, NBC and more.

Opening next season
Remind Me

Industry and Writer Trusted

Ridley Scott

RAISED BY WOLVES | THE MARTIAN | GLADIATOR

“Writers are an integral part of my team and without them I would not be able to do my job, so to be able to work with Launch Pad and provide a new and innovative way for them to get their work out in the world is truly exciting.”

Brooklyn Weaver

Manager & Producer, Energy Entertainment

“The numbers speak for themselves. Beyond the massive amount of writers who have landed reps from Launch Pad, no other has led to more sales and bidding wars in existence. And beyond that, the success isn’t just here, but these scripts have landed on every major end of year list. This place starts careers!”

Katie Golden-Brady

Launch Pad Feature Top 10 and writer of UNASSIGNED LANDS

Launch Pad is truly the most influential screenwriting competition out there. Since making Top Ten, without even hearing winning results yet, I’ve had more contact from managers and production companies than in several years of my career so far combined.

Current Season Dates

Announcements

Jun 23, 2023
Top 100
Jul 7, 2023
Top 50
Jul 21, 2023
Top 10
Mar 21, 2023
Second Rounder
Aug 11, 2023
Winner

Launching Careers

The Launch Pad Competitions have led to more signings, success stories and careers than any other screenwriting competition. With nearly a decade of experience in promoting up-and-coming writers, The Launch Pad Competition has firmly established itself as the premier hub for Hollywood to discover fresh voices and new ideas.  We advocate for all of our Top 100 finalists, working with them to share their work with the right industry members to advance their career. 

Our prestigious juries of industry members include managers, agents, producers and executives at companies across Hollywood. We also offer exclusive partnerships with management and production companies to give writers an extra leg up. 

Through these partnerships, as well as our exclusive mentorship opportunities, we seek to provide as many avenues towards success as possible.  No competition will do more to help all of their finalists take the next steps in their careers, and no competition has had as much success in helping writers break into the industry. Enter now for a chance to join this tradition of Launch Pad success.

Meet the Jury

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.

Rachel Sklar

Everywhere Studios | Executive

EveryWhere Studios is an Independently financed production company committed to bringing unique voices and stories to screens everywhere. Working with both true and fictionalized stories, the EWS team identifies compelling content and talented writers to create noteworthy television series, event series and movies for all distribution platforms. They have produced many projects for the Lifetime Network.

Casey Hodgkinson

Apatow Productions | Creative Executive

Casey Hodgkinson is a Creative Executive at Apatow Productions, where she develops projects for both film and TV. She started her career in representation, most notably at 3 Arts Entertainment, where she worked closely with some of the top comedic talent in the world. She holds a BA in Cinema and Television Arts from Cal State Northridge.

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.

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.

Georgina Gonzalez

HBO Max | Director, International Programming

Before joining HBO Max International as Director, Programming, Georgina was Director of Development in the SPLATAM team at Gaumont Television, which produces shows like “El Presidente” for Amazon and “Narcos” for Netflix. She previously launched the film development department for Cinépolis, the second-largest theater chain worldwide. She started her career at Fox, Universal, MGM and the Univision-Netflix joint venture, Story House Entertainment on series such as “El Chapo”. Through her production company, Off-Hollywood Films, she produced films like "The Reports on Sarah & Saleem" (International Film Festival Rotterdam 2018 audience and jury awards), "Sanctorum” (Venice International Film Festival closing film 2019), “Martinez” (Berlinale labs, Tribeca and AFS fund winner 2018).

Giselle Contreras

3Pas Studios | Manager, Television

Giselle Contreras is a manager of television at 3Pas Studios, Eugenio Derbez’s production company. In television, 3Pas has set up projects at HBOMax, Apple+, Amazon, Hulu, FX, Starz, E!, Nickelodeon, ABC, and NBC. Their half-hour comedy ACAPULCO airs on Apple+, and they are currently working on a television adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar's classic film WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN starring Gina Rodriguez with Lionsgate and I Can & I Will for Apple+. She worked at Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network, an English language, Latino-infused cable channel, as well as with The Will & Jada Smith Family Foundation, eventually transitioning to Overbrook Entertainment's Film/TV production and development department.

Jasmine Johnson

Crypt TV | EVP of Development

Jasmine Johnson originally hails from Bowie, Maryland. She attended Temple University where she received her B.A. in Film and Media Arts. After graduation, Johnson moved to Los Angeles where she cut her teeth in talent management, working at various companies including Anonymous Content, before transitioning to development. She now serves as Crypt TV's EVP of Development and is a Co-Executive Producer on Peacock's THE GIRL IN THE WOODS and an Executive Producer on AMC/Shudder's upcoming feature THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER.

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.

Joe Wiggins

Intrigue | Head of Development

As Head of Development at Intrigue, Joe specializes in adapting IP and original scripts for the U.S. television and feature film industry. Some of his development sales include EINSTEIN to CBS, ESCAPE to NBC, and CONNECT to FOX as well as adaptations of a popular tabletop game series, a Dark Horse comic, a NYT best seller, and a Newberry Award winning novel. Most recently, Intrigue produced pilots for ABC and The CW and went to series at NBC with GAME OF SILENCE. They also produced MARMADUKE for 20th Century Fox. Raised by a Jewish Chilean immigrant, Joe is bicultural, fluent in Spanish, and played a key role in the development of a new AVOD platform called Globi TV which features premium international films and series.

Kristina Sutton

Focused Artists | Executive Director

Kristina Sutton Lennon is the Executive Director at Focused Artists and a Talent Manager for Citizen Skull. As a Literary Manager for Focused Artists, she has facilitated book deals with publishers for clients, pitched content to producers, studios and networks, and has projects in various stages of development with production companies. She prides herself on her diverse slate of content and has a proven track record in sourcing material, script development and talent scouting. She is a proud member of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers) and the Oklahoma Motion Picture Alliance.

Lindsey Walko

Citizen Skull | Research and Development Assistant

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.

Wes Ambrecht

Titan 1 Studios | Head of Studio Partnerships

Wes Ambrecht is a writer, producer and development executive. He currently serves as the Head of Studio Partnerships for Titan1Studios, overseeing the Toronto based shingle's push into Film and TV. Prior to this, Wes was the VP, Development and Production at Foundation Films and the Director of Development at both Paper Plane Entertainment and Viewfinder Pictures. Wes' work has shown at festivals worldwide, most notably Santa Barbara International Film Festival and Cannes, and he has been recognized by both the Sundance Institute and the Sprite Young Filmmaker Series.

William Deasey

Zero Gravity Management | Director of Development

Currently the Director of Development for Zero Gravity Management, a prolific management and production company behind major projects like Netflix’s Ozark and Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker, William Deasey is responsible for handling and supporting all aspects of film and television creative development for Zero Gravity's production slate.

Jeff Brody

Jeff Brody is a member of the lit department at Authentic Talent + Literary Management. He began his career in the TV division at Lakeshore Entertainment. He moved into the talent department at Authentic, then transitioned over to Authentic’s literary division. He now works with several showrunners and creators, helping them tailor their projects so they are more attractive to performers.

Andrea Dimity

Independent | Manager

Andrea Dimity is a literary manager, producer. For more than a decade, Andrea has been actively working in feature film development and production. Prior to management, she worked for producers such as Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Todd Phillips, Chris Meledandri. She has also served as Associate Producer (Untitled HL Project) at Walt Disney Studios and was previously engaged on a local Walt Disney Studios production called the United that was shot entirely in Jordan. Andrea is currently executive producing Kandahar (Gerard Butler) for Thunder Road Pictures, Her client, Pete Barry is the writer of Marian, a twist on a Robin Hood tale that was sold to Amy Pascal and Colombia Pictures with Margot Robbie starring and producing along with Donald De Line.

Andy Cohen

Grade A Entertainment | President

Andy Cohen is the President of Grade A Entertainment, a production/management company involved in producing film, television and theatre and representing writers, directors and authors for film and tv. Selected credits include: GIFTED starring Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, and Mckenna Grace for Searchlight; UNTRACEABLE starring Diane Lane for Sony Pictures; HEATHERS THE MUSICAL Off-Broadway; and a number of other film and television projects. Upcoming projects include MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE for Netflix and THE REMARKABLE JOURNEY OF COYOTE SUNRISE for Walden Media.

Beth Bruckner O’Brien

Independent | Producer

Beth Bruckner O’Brien is a producer and executive who has worked on 36 films during her career, most recently as an independent producer developing and packaging a slate of films, including THE NEST, which she is producing alongside Halle Berry’s production company run by Holly Jeter. As the SVP of Solstice Studios between 2018-2021, Beth executive produced Robert Rodriguez’s HYPNOTIC, starring Ben Affleck (now in post production), as well as co-produced the film, UNHINGED, starring Russell Crowe. She previously executive produced BULLET HEAD and LEATHERFACE, a prequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. She also worked as a development executive on THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD franchise, the OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN franchise, the EXPENDABLES franchise, and the MECHANIC franchise. Prior to that, Beth served as a development executive at Peter Block’s company, A Bigger Boat, working on HOUSE AT THE END OF THE STREET, SAW 6, SAW 3D, John Carpenter’s THE WARD, and Adam Green’s FROZEN.

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.

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).

Navid McIlhargey

Vandal Entertainment | Executive

Navid Mcllhargey has been a studio executive and producer for over 20 years. As an executive at Joe Roth’s Revolution Studios, he oversaw production on films such as WHITE CHICKS, PETER PAN, and TEARS OF THE SUN. In 2004, he moved to Joel Silver’s Silver Pictures where he was a producer on the Guy Ritchie directed ROCKNROLLA. In 2008 Navid became Executive Vice President at New Regency, where he oversaw production of THE DARKEST HOUR and BROKEN CITY.. In 2015, Navid started Vandal Entertainment, which focuses primarily on elevated thematic and character based/high-concept genre fare. The company released its first film entitled THE HUNTER’S PRAYER starring Sam Worthington. McIlhargey most recently produced MODERN LOVE for Amazon.

Josh Dove

Circle of Confusion | Manager

Originally from North Carolina, Josh Dove started out his career working at Gersh. He has since worked at multiple management companies before landing at his current position as a manager with Circle of Confusion.

Daniel Seco

Empirical Evidence | Literary Manager and Partner

A former sports journalist covering U.S. Soccer, MLB, and the NBA, Daniel Seco began his Hollywood career in 2013 at Resolution. He joined CAA in 2014 where he worked in the motion picture literary department before venturing into literary management on the feature side at Writ Large in 2015 as a coordinator/junior manager. A series of consulting jobs including a stop at Netflix in its Original Film department gave way to Seco joining Schemers Entertainment as a literary manager in 2018. Currently, Seco is a literary manager and partner at Empirical Evidence, a literary creative company founded by Derrick Eppich. Seco is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland and the University of Florida as well as a cancer survivor.

Samantha Shear

Zoic Studios | VP of Development

Samantha Shear is the VP of Development at Emmy-winning global entertainment company Zoic Studios. She joined the company in 2018 to launch their new content division, Zoic Pictures. Some of the feature film projects in development so far include the original screenplay SID at Amazon Studios with Davis Entertainment as well as holiday rom-com Meet The Clauses and The Secret Tree with 1440/Universal. In television, Zoic is developing a YA Korean fantasy series Gilded with Sony Television and Wheel of Time creator Rafe Judkins and arcane punk comic book series Battle Chasers created by Joe Madureira and to be adapted by Derek Kolstad (John Wick) with Alcon Entertainment.

Derek Beamer

Cannonball Productions | Creative Executive

Derek Beamer is a Creative Executive at Cannonball Productions, where he develops projects for film and TV with a focus on meaningful true stories and unique points of view. He began his career in freelance production, working on everything from major studio releases, narrative television, and low budget independent feature films before joining Cannonball in 2014. A Wyoming native and graduate of Chapman University’s film production program, Derek takes a dedicated hands-on approach to filmmaking He served as Co-Producer on Cannonball’s feature film SAINT JUDY.

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 each of 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 Development Prize | 2 Winners

  • A Minimum of 1 project will be selected by each of our development partners 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 Prize | 2 Winners

  • A Minimum of 1 writer will be selected for representation by each of our exclusive signing partners.
  • 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 | 2 Winners

  • A Minimum of 2 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

This year, we are thrilled to have 2 Guaranteed Development Partners!

Jorge García Castro is the co-founder of production company AlteredLA, and management company, Inclusion Management. Jorge advises on Latinx content development and production for many major studios and streamers, including Disney, Netflix, Sony, Universal, and Vix+, among others. He’s advised on projects like Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Irishman’, Tim Burton’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’, and Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, among others. Prior, Jorge was an executive for The Walt Disney Studios, and currently has a first-look deal with Universal.

 

Having met in 2017, Jason Tamasco and Zak Kristofek formed TRACTION in 2021. With over 20 combined years in the industry they wanted to continue pursuing creative projects that elevated all genres and share stories told by artists that the world should know. As part of their upcoming slate, the producing partners are attached to the highly anticipated directorial debut of Mo McRae, A LOT OF NOTHING, being released by AMC’s RLJE in 2023, along with RED RIGHT HAND (2023) starring Orlando Bloom, TIME ALONE starring Taraji P. Henson and written by Oscar-nominee Alessandro Camon, and recently sold a high-concept original series pitch to Disney+.

Requires Add-On or Top 10 placement

Guaranteed Signing

This year, we are thrilled to have 2 Guaranteed Signing Partners!

Writers Management was launched by veteran TV development executive and producer Jared Negrón with the mission to serve as a literary management company focused on representing diverse creators from a variety of backgrounds Before founding Writers Management, Negrón—who himself identifies as Queer, Latinx, and Jewish—served on the development teams for such notable series as Common Law, Power, Man in the High Castle, The Terror, and Jean-Claude Van Johnson as well as several high-profile pilot sales including Dead Pop Star to Fox and the adaptation of the Emma Sayle novel Behind the Mask to Fremantle.

The levels and career stages of writers on the Writers Management roster are as varied as their backgrounds. Newly signed ICU nurse-turned screenwriter Shar Carter just had her first round of general meetings. The writing team of Graham Towers & Ben Deeb recently completed multiple seasons of the Emmy® nominated comedy Black-ish and is out for their next staffing job. UCB sketch comedy veteran Heather Woodward is taking the next steps in her career, taking the leap from staffing on shows to pitching her own material. Rachel Strauss-Muñiz, has made a huge splash having been featured as part of the NHMC Latinx Stream Showcase and her podcast Latinos Out Loud is one of the most popular Latinx culture podcasts in the world. And novelist and Bread Loaf alumnus Will Clarke recently published his fourth full-length novel and currently has two projects in development with a major TV studio.

Writers Management endeavors to lift up writers and creators of all backgrounds and amplify entertaining stories by putting authenticity and lived experience in the room. Creators from historically privileged communities are encouraged to use their platforms to shine a spotlight and further the mission through their work and positions of power.

 

Our Guaranteed Signing Partner is Tobias Literary Management literary manager Eric C. Jones. Tobias Literary Management represents several Pulitzer Prize winners, ALA and Coretta Scott King award honorees, and New York Times and USA Today bestsellers. Some of their upcoming film projects include Children of Chicago, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea, Tomorrow with Ace Productions, and several documentaries with The Content Group and Discovery.

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 exclusive mentorship opportunity is set up to do

Bisha K. Ali

Bisha K. Ali is a screenwriter and executive producer from London, based between London and Los Angeles. Ali is the creator and head writer of the critically acclaimed ‘Ms. Marvel,’ a limited series by Marvel Studios for Disney+, which brings the first Muslim superhero to the small screen and garnered a 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating. Ali has previously written for Marvel’s ‘Loki’ for Disney+. Before joining the Marvel family, Ali also wrote for Hulu’s limited series ‘Four Weddings And A Funeral,’ created by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton.

Prior to her work with Disney, Ali was a contributing writer on ‘Sex Education’ for Netflix and is Consulting Producer on HBO and Sky’s horror-comedy limited series ‘The Baby’. She is also the writer of the upcoming animated musical feature ‘Century Goddess,’ for Spire Animation, a studio founded by ‘Ratatouille’ producer Brad Lewis and entrepreneur P.J. Gunsagar. Ali currently has projects in development with Annapurna TV, Apple, eOne, Higher Ground and Netflix.

Ali’s commitment to inclusion and overt change in minority representation behind the camera lead to the establishing of Bisha K. Ali x Netflix’s Screenwriters’ Fellowship in association with Sky. The first of its kind in the UK, the fellowship offers six screenwriters from underrepresented groups a substantial bursary, their first TV credit, a paid placement in a writers’ room, workshops and mentorship, as well as time to focus on an original spec script over the course of a year.

Corey Moore

Corey Moore is an experienced television writer who currently serves as a Story Editor for ALL RISE on OWN, having previously written for BET’s KINGDOM BUSINESS and CBS’s NCIS: NEW ORLEANS.

Corey served as head story producer for the syndicated, television true-life series Corrupt Crimes for Sky Vision and Sinclair Broadcasting. He’s also written for the Warner Bros. true-life TV program Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen.

Prior to his transition into television writing, Corey was a producer/reporter for such outlets as NPR's Morning Edition, The Travis Smiley Show, KPCC (Southern California Public Radio) and BET.

Elaine Loh

A previous Launch Pad Finalist herself, Elaine Loh spent a decade as a working actor before crossing over to the other side of the camera and joining the writing staff of Gossip Girl for HBOMax, followed by Dynasty for the CW (also a Top Ten show worldwide on Netflix). Her short form series, Doxxed, won a Telly Award, Best Short Comedy at the Catalyst Film Festival (formerly itvfest), and Best Achievement at Raindance. Elaine considers herself an “artivist” - an artist and an activist - and as such, she has served as a member of the SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles Board of Directors, has run weekly phonebanks for voter registration army Field Team 6, and leads a political accountability group called Operation Checks and Balances. Elaine was born in Singapore, can solve a Rubik’s cube in less than two minutes, and is addicted to Wendy’s junior bacon cheeseburgers.

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. 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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