For the second year running, the ‘Killer Shorts’ Horror Short Screenplay Competition is accepting submissions. The Screenwriters Network is partnering with top figures in the horror genre (producers, execs and literary managers) to select the Top 10 scripts from the pool of submissions.

Those lucky enough to get into the Top 10 will be judged by genre giants such as Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Joe Bob Briggs (The Last Drive In) and Jenn Wrexler (The Ranger) amongst others. Lucky winners will be in with a chance of winning a further $5000 worth of prizes including copies of Final Draft, wavied entries to other screenwriting competitions, a free Shudder subscription and a higher rank on Coverfly’s The Red List.

Killer Shorts has placed an extra emphasis this year on providing more opportunities for women and POC. Killer Shorts have worked with women-led film groups such as Screen Queens to provide discounted entry fees for women and non-binary filmmakers. We are proud to offer a 50% discount code on behalf of Killer Shorts that can be used on Coverfly or Filmfreeway (there is no limit to the amount of times you can use the code either!):

SQ50OFF

Killer Shorts is committed to finding the freshest new voices in horror, carrying on a very new tradition that has seen smash-hit feature length horrors created from proof-of-concept shorts found by committed developers and producers such as Lights Out, Clown, Mama and The Babadook.

Need some inspiration? Alison Parker, Contest Director and Founder of The Screenwriters Network gives this advice: “Give us something we haven’t seen before. We received 765 submissions in Season 1. We read a lot of werewolves, vampires, serial killers, and zombies. There must be something unique about your story and how you tell it. Whether that’s how the killer kills, a location we’ve never seen before, a new type of monster, or a strange point of view, push yourself to be different and give us something new.” 

Entries are open from July 1st until December 15th, with Early Bird entries (fees starting at $20) needing to be submitted by September 1st. You can find out more about Killer Shorts here.