Retreat Dates:

 

• 2nd - 6th, May 2025

Deadlines / Submission Fees

 

• Early Deadline – July 7, 2024 ($50 Submission Fee)
• Regular Deadline – August 4, 2024 ($69 Submission Fee)
• Late Deadline – September 2, 2024 ($81 Submission Fee)
• Extended Late Deadline – October 7, 2024 ($88 Submission Fee)
• Final Deadline – November 11, 2024 ($90 Submission Fee)

Announcements
 

• Quarterfinalists - Late-January, 2024
• Semifinalists/Invitees - Late-February,  2024
• Finalists - Mid-March, 2024
• Division Winner - Early-April, 2024
• TV Fellow - Mid-April, 2024

DIVISIONS

 

• ORIGINAL DRAMA - 1 HOUR SERIES (45 - 65 pages, excluding cover page): The pilot episode of your original one hour drama series
• ORIGINAL COMEDY - 30 MINUTE SERIES (single-camera pilots, 22 - 45 pages, excluding cover; multi-camera pilots, 52 - 58 pages, excluding cover page, with dialogue double spaced throughout): The pilot episode of your original single-camera comedy series or multi-camera sitcom
• ORIGINAL SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY - 1 HOUR SERIES (45 - 65 pages, excluding cover page): The pilot episode of your original series that falls into the Science Fiction Genre (i.e., stories about time travel, space travel, advanced technology, extraterrestrials, post-apocalyptic and alien worlds; examples of Science Fiction Series are "Star Trek," "Battlestar Galactica," "The 100," "Sense8," "The Walking Dead") or Fantasy Genre (i.e., stories featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds; examples of Fantasy Series are "Game Of Thrones," "Once Upon A Time," "Supernatural," "The Magicians," "American Gods")

FORMATTING GUIDELINES

 

• Teleplays must be PDFs and must be pilot episodes.
• Teleplays are judged anonymously; therefore, they must have CLEAN COVER PAGES (i.e., title only on the cover, no author’s name/contact information) and no identifying information anywhere in the body text or in the PDF file name.
• Teleplays must be (a) 45 to 65 pages (excluding cover page) for 1 hour divisions; (b) 22 - 45 pages (excluding cover page) for 30 minute Original Comedy division single-camera pilots; or (c) 52 - 58 pages (excluding cover page), with dialogue double spaced throughout, for 30 minute Original Comedy division muliti-camera pilots.
• Body pages must be numbered.
• No additional materials, artwork, illustrations etc. should be attached to the script.
• Teleplays must be in English.
• No substituted pages or other revisions will be accepted once you have submitted your teleplay.  A new version of a teleplay may be resubmitted by filling out a new entry form and paying a new entry fee.
• Entries that do not meet all Rules & Guidelines will be automatically disqualified and the submission fee WILL NOT be refunded.

ADDITIONAL RULES & GUIDELINES

 

• Entrants must be 18 or older.
• The Grand Prize Television Fellowship winner MUST ATTEND the Television Retreat in order to receive the cash award and other prizes. If a Fellowship winner cannot attend the Retreat, the person will be disqualified and a new winner will be determined.
• Any teleplay from any genre will be considered. NO FEATURE SCREENPLAYS WILL BE CONSIDERED. Any feature screenplays submitted will be disqualified without refund of the submission fee.
• Entrants must not have sold a project to a network or cable channel in the past 5 years.
• No substitutions of new drafts or corrected pages for entries will be accepted under any circumstances. However, you may submit a new draft as a separate submission accompanied by a separate submission fee and any other required information.
• CineStory notifies winners only. Entrants are advised to check CineStory's website and e-newsletter for judging announcements.
• Entered teleplays may not be optioned, sold or produced at the time of entry.
• Multiple entries are accepted, provided a signed entry form and appropriate entry fee is attached to each submission.
• Multiple authorship is acceptable. However, if the teleplay wins an award, only one award will be given and it will be divided equally among the writers.
• Teleplays must be the original work of the author. If based on another person's life story, a statement attesting to the rights obtained must be attached.
• No adaptations of other written work will be accepted unless the writer owns the rights to the original material. PLEASE NOTE: Any adaption of other written work that is in the Public Domain is eligible for submission.
• There must be no dispute about the ownership of submitted teleplays or the writer's right to submit a teleplay.
• CineStory recommends registering your screenplays with the WGA or the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress.
• Judges' decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into. Sorry, we cannot provide individual feedback from the judges.
• Entrants acknowledge that CineStory, its judges, mentors and officers may be exposed to or may develop materials and ideas that may be similar to those of the submitted material. Entrants acknowledge they will not be entitled to any compensation because from such similar material which is independently conceived and created.
• Entrants agree to never assert against CineStory (or any of its judges, directors, officers, employees or agents) any claim based on an assertion of plagiarism, idea theft, confidential or fiduciary relationship or any other theory relating to the submitted material.
• Winners will be responsible for their own U.S. income tax withholding.
• Entering the contest constitutes permission to use the winners' names and likenesses for publicity and promotions with no additional compensation.
• Retreat fees are determined per individual retreat based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to then-current vendor estimates, valuations of mentor sessions determined by then-current entertainment industry standards (e.g., mentor sessions as of 2020 valued at $500), and then-current valuations of comparable retreats.
• CineStory does not issue refunds of submission fees and/or retreat fees that have become nonrefundable under the terms of retreat invitations. Any and all such payments made to CineStory are not refundable for any reason, including, without limitation, withdrawal or disqualification of a teleplay for any reason, withdrawal from or failure to attend a retreat due to illness, acts of God, travel-related problems, acts of terrorism, and/or loss of employment.
• All entries must be uploaded by the appropriate deadline.
• CineStory reserves the right to extend the final deadline; however, an extended deadline is not guaranteed. CineStory will not accept revisions of previously submitted teleplays if it chooses to extend the deadline unless the teleplay is accompanied by an additional submission fee as stated in these Rules & Guidelines.
• CineStory is not responsible for entries lost, stolen or damaged in transit.
• Finalists are required to submit a letter and video as part of the finals judging process.
• Entries that do not meet all Rules & Guidelines will be automatically disqualified and the submission fee WILL NOT be refunded.

All Rules & Guidelines are subject to change without notice.