2024 Josephson Entertainment + Roadmap Writers Short Story Competition Rules and Guidelines:
- All submissions must be in PDF format.
- Short stories are to be no more than 50 pages. (Times New Roman, 12pt font, double spaced). Any submission over 50 pages will be disqualified.
- The personal statement should be no more than 1 page. The personal statement should express your personal brand, why you applied, and why you wrote the story submitted.
- The winner of the short story competition will win a prize of $7000 and enter into an option agreement of 24 months with Josephson Entertainment.
- Any further development of the short story will be done independently of the writer of the short story.
- The competition is open to works of all genres.
- Must be written in English.
- All submissions are final. No substitutions of pages will be allowed.
- With the exception of the optioned short story, all works submitted will remain the property of the writer(s). Neither Roadmap Writers nor any of its judges and/or their respective companies assume any attachment to your work.
- Multiple manuscripts may be submitted but each manuscript is required to pay a separate registration fee.
- Must be 18 years old and over to enter.
- Must be an original idea; free and clear of any copyright issues.
- Material must be the original work of the submitter(s).
- Neither Roadmap Writers, Josephson Entertainment, nor any of its judges and/or competition partners investigate or confirm the authenticity of an entrant’s authorship rights or claim.
- In the event of multiple authors, please list all additional co-writers.
- Material written by co-authors must be submitted by one of the authors, with the consent of the other(s).
- If a story written by co-authors 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.
- Entrants may be contacted as a result of the competition by Roadmap Writers, a member of the judging panel, or other industry professionals.
- Roadmap Writers nor Josephson Entertainment are responsible for any technical issue(s) that may arise from electronic submission.
- Roadmap Writers’ Josephson Entertainment Short Story Competition readers’ decisions are final.
- Submissions will be evaluated by experienced independent industry experts and judged on the criteria of: Premise/Concept, Characters, Story, and Voice/Style. Submissions will receive multiple evaluations based on the competition's proprietary scoring system.
- Announcement Dates are tentative and subject to change.
- Roadmap Writers reserves the right, at our sole discretion, to change or modify these terms at any time without notice.
- If a judge or competition partner is no longer able to serve in their specific capacity, Roadmap Writers will make their best efforts to secure a replacement. Judges reserve the right not to grant an award.
- By entering the Josephson Entertainment Short Story Competition, you agree to receive competition updates via email and periodic marketing emails from Roadmap Writers. You may unsubscribe at any time. See the Submission Agreement for a full list of Terms and Conditions for submitting an entry.
- To enter the Roadmap's Josephson Entertainment Short Story Competition, you must agree to its Terms and Conditions.
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About Roadmap Writers & Roadmap Authors
Roadmap Writers is a writing 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 390 writers and authors sign to representation, and countless others get staffed, optioned, or sell their projects.