For the third year 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.

The Killer Short Contest celebrates horror short screenwriters from around the world, connecting them with managers, producers, and filmmakers. The Top 10 scripts will be read by a star-studded panel of judges, with over $5,000 worth of prizes up for grabs including Final Draft 12 screenwriting software, Shudder subscriptions, career consultations, memberships to Stan Winston’s School of Creative Arts, and a one-of-a-kind skull-shaped typewriter trophy, hand-sculpted and designed by celebrity FX artist Tyler Green (Syfy’s Face Off).

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.

New to the competition this year, a budget-friendly ‘1 Page Horror Short’ category, with a locked-in $5 entry fee. Prizes include an all-access 1 year subscription to Stan Winston School, $500 cash, a 1 Year ISAConnect Membership, plus the highly coveted skull typewriter trophy.

 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.” 

Submissions are accepted between July 1 2021 – December 17 2021. There is no limit to the amount of times you may use this code. You can find out more about Killer Shorts here.

Rose is a film critic , who graduated from the University of Liverpool with an MRes in Film Studies. She loves thrillers, Al Pacino, and multilingual cinema and she’s not entirely sure if she’s a millennial.

Find her on twitter, and find more of her work at https://rosedymock.contently.com