2023 Roadmap Podcasting Competition - Rules

2023 Roadmap Podcasting Competition Deadlines

Open for Submissions | September 8th, 2023 at 12:00pm PT

Early | October 6th, 2023 | $35

Regular | November 3rd, 2023 | $40

Late | December 1st, 2023 | $45

*Submissions must be submitted online by 11:59 PM PST on the deadline date to be eligible for the corresponding deadline*

PODCAST COMPETITION RULES

GENERAL ELIGIBILITY:

All Narrative Fiction and Narrative Nonfiction Podcasts submitted must be in English.
The podcast must not have been optioned, sold, or distributed prior to April 5th, 2023. Applicants must notify Roadmap Writers of any changes in status following submission.
Scripts that have been produced are only eligible if:
~ More than one season has not been released to the public
~The show is produced independently and is not controlled by, under exclusive license to, or financed by any major production company
~ All submissions must be accompanied by the appropriate submission fee PER ENTRY
~ Roadmap Writers reserves the right in its sole discretion to reject or disqualify any ineligible entries, without a refund

ORIGINALITY AND PERMISSIONS; INDEMNITY:

Podcasts must be the original work of the applicant(s). If based upon another person’s life or upon a book or other underlying work, the applicant(s) must secure any necessary rights to make such adaptations. However, it is not necessary to submit the adaptation or rights agreements to Roadmap Writers. Neither Roadmap Writers nor its jurists investigates or attests to the authenticity of an applicant’s statement of authorship or rights secured. By entering the competition, you are acknowledging that you have secured all necessary rights.
Spec episodes of existing shows will not be considered
BY SUBMITTING THE MATERIAL, THE APPLICANT HEREBY AGREES TO INDEMNIFY, HOLD HARMLESS, AND DEFEND ROADMAP WRITERS, ITS EMPLOYEES, DIRECTORS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND AFFILIATES FROM ANY LIABILITY, CLAIMS, AND DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH THE SUBMISSION AND FROM ANY FEES AND EXPENSES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, THAT ANY OF THEM MAY INCUR IN CONNECTION THEREWITH.

WRITING TEAMS:

Material written by writing teams (or multiple writers) must be submitted by one of the writers, with the consent of the other(s).
Please list all additional co-writers.
If a writing team places in the competition or is chosen as a winner, prizes will be given to the person who submits the project. Each writing team is responsible for dividing or sharing the prize benefits.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Once an entry payment has been received we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed by an entrant for any reason, the entrant may be subject to any transaction fees or similar amounts incurred by Roadmap Writers in connection with the dispute.
No revisions or missing pages will be accepted once an entry has been received.
Awards are based solely on the overall merit of entries. Judges reserve the right not to grant an award.
We strongly suggest that applicants copyright their materials with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or register their screenplay/teleplay with the Writers Guild of America, East or Writers Guild of America, West. Please consult an attorney regarding any questions about these.

SUBMISSIONS/SCRIPT FORMATTING:

Applicant must submit a SINGLE PDF file containing the following:
1 fiction, nonfiction, or anthology scripted episode, totaling no more than 30 pages in length. Each script must be submitted as part of the same PDF file
An outline for the full series (1-3 pages)
Podcast scripts must be the original work of the applicant – spec episodes of existing shows will not be considered
No revisions or missing pages will be accepted once entry has been received
We strongly suggest that applicants register or copyright their material before submitting
Podcast scripts should be formatted with the following in mind: a fictionalized, or non-fictionalized, purely acoustic performance for broadcast via the internet or radio. Podcasts may include styles of drama, comedy, documentaries, or more
Podcast scripts must be 3-30 pages in length
Scripts should be formatted according to a traditional screenplay or radio play
Font size must be 12 point and in Courier type
Pages must be numbered in the top right-hand corner
Scripts must be in PDF format under 5MB
Identifiable information such as the writer's name and email can appear on the front cover page along with the TITLE of the script.

SUBMISSIONS/AUDIO FORMATTING:

Submissions must be between three (3) and thirty-five (35) minutes in length
An outline for the full series (1-3 pages)
Submissions must be uploaded by the Entrant to SoundCloud, Podbean, Spotify, or YouTube (in any format acceptable to those platforms) with the ability to download the Submission enabled
Submissions must comply with, as applicable, SoundCloud's Terms of Use, Podbean's Terms of Use, Spotify's Terms of Service, or YouTube's Terms of Service
Submissions must not include any music created by anyone other than Entrant
Submissions must not contain material that violates or infringes another's rights (including, but not limited to, material that violates privacy, publicity, or intellectual property rights). Please be respectful of copyright and trademark laws
Entrants may include live performances of public domain songs or non-copyrightable rhythm elements if it is relevant to the story. For avoidance of doubt, for the purposes of these Official Rules, "public domain" does not mean "publicly available"; it means that copyright has expired and the material is no longer under copyright protection. We encourage Entrants to err on the side of excluding music if the Entrant is not sure whether the music is copyrighted or not. Entries will be disqualified if they contain materials that appear to infringe copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights of others. Songs or chants made up by Entrants are acceptable as long as they are performed live on the recording and Entrant notes in Entrant's submission form that the song or chant was composed by Entrant
By submitting an entry, you affirm that you own all the rights to any and all musical content in your submission, including but not limited to: the right to reproduce, distribute, and publicly perform. Here are examples of what is and is not public domain work

JUDGING:

Roadmap Writers’ Competition readers’ decisions are final.
Submissions will be evaluated by experienced independent industry experts and judged on the following criteria: Information and Structure, Voice and Creativity, and Production Quality (audio). Submissions will receive multiple evaluations based on the competition's proprietary scoring system.
List of judges is subject to change. If a judge or competition partner is no longer able to serve in their specific capacity, Roadmap Writers will make best efforts to secure a replacement. Judges reserve the right not to grant an award.

LEGAL/RIGHTS:

By entering this competition, you agree to its Rules & Guidelines.
Roadmap Writers reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify these terms at any time without notice.
Announcement dates are tentative and subject to change.
All scripts and audio submitted will remain the property of the writer(s). Neither Roadmap Writers nor any of its judges, partners, and/or their respective companies assume any attachment to your work.
Neither Roadmap Writers nor any of its judges and/or competition partners investigate or confirm the authenticity of an entrant’s authorship rights or claim. If it is found out that a writer or writing team has falsely claimed authorship, they will be disqualified from the competition. Roadmap Writers reserve the right to ban any or all of the writers from future competitions, and from any other Roadmap Writers services.
Roadmap Writers is not responsible for any technical issue(s) that may arise from electronic submission.
While it is not a requirement, we strongly suggest that applicants copyright their materials with the U.S. Copyright Office and/or register their screenplay/teleplay with the Writers Guild of America, East or Writers Guild of America, West. Please consult an attorney regarding any questions about these.

PROMOTION, MARKETING, OUTREACH:

Entrants may be contacted as a result of the competition by Roadmap Writers, a member of the judging panel, or other industry professionals.
By entering this competition, you agree to receive competition updates via email and marketing emails from Roadmap Writers.
You may unsubscribe from our emails at any time—BUT if you do so, you won’t be notified if you place in the competition. You will have to check the competition announcements on our blog at your own convenience.

ENTRY SCORING:

Submissions will be judged by independent industry experts based on the following criteria. The explanations of each criterion below are by no means exhaustive. They are examples of some of the questions readers and judges consider in each category,

Information and Structure:

Does the Submission tell a compelling story? Is it structured in a way that makes sense and keeps listeners engaged? Can we easily follow the story you're telling or the information you're explaining? Do the main ideas come through clearly?

Voice and Creativity:

Is the concept compelling? Does the writer have a unique voice? Does it have personality? Does it make us laugh or cry or leave us deep in thought — FEEL something?

Production Quality (audio):

We're not judging you on how fancy your equipment is and we don't expect you to be an expert on recording and editing sound. Some Submissions may use sound, or audio, in creative ways. Others may be more of an interview format. If you use sound, does it add to the story you're telling? Did you layer the audio and narration?

ABOUT ROADMAP WRITERS:

Roadmap Writers is a screenwriting education and training platform for Career Writers looking for a guided path to success. Our programs are hosted by working industry executives and are designed to empower writers with actionable tools and insights to elevate their craft and cultivate relationships with industry professionals. Since 2016, we have helped more than 350 writers sign to representation, and countless others get staffed, optioned, or sell their script.