Full Details & Rules

1) Purpose and identity

The Lone Star Festival of Film Screenplay Contest is Texas-first with a strong Book-to-Screen focus. It exists to discover screen stories with Texas energy—especially adaptations of books written by Texas authors—while remaining open to standout original scripts from anywhere.

This contest is integrated into the Lone Star Festival of Film: winners are announced publicly and recognized during the festival awards presentation.

2) Categories

You selected “all of them.” Here is the full category slate:

Core screenplay categories

Feature Screenplay
Short Screenplay
TV Pilot (30-minute)
TV Pilot (60-minute)
Web Series Pilot
Micro-Short Screenplay (very short-form)
Adaptation + nonfiction development

Adapted Screenplay (Book-to-Screen) (based on a book written by a Texas author; proof of rights required)
Documentary Treatment (nonfiction concept/treatment format)
Special recognitions

Student Screenplay (18+ only; student status required)
Texas Heritage / Texas History Screenplay
Genre Screenplay Awards (Comedy, Drama, Thriller/Horror, Family, etc.)
Winners: One winner per category only.
Grand Prize: Yes — one overall Grand Prize winner selected from all category winners.
Audience Choice: Not at this time.

3) Eligibility

A) Who can enter

Open to all writers worldwide IF the script is based on a book written by a Texas author, OR the script is submitted to any of the other open categories (original work).
Age: 18+ only
Co-writers: Allowed (no limit)
B) Produced status

Produced scripts are allowed, provided they are not distributed.

Definition of “distributed” (for this contest):
A produced film/video based on the submitted screenplay has been made available to the general public in any of the following ways:

Commercial or public streaming platforms (subscription, rental, free-with-ads, etc.)
Broadcast/cable television
Wide public release on video platforms (public YouTube / Vimeo uploads, etc.)
Theatrical release (commercial)
Digital storefront sales/rentals
Physical media sales/distribution
Not considered “distributed” (generally acceptable):

Private/limited cast & crew screenings
Unlisted/private online links shared only with reviewers, investors, or festivals (non-public)
Internal industry pitching materials
If there’s any dispute, the contest’s head judge/festival administration will make the final call.

C) Prior winners

Previous contest winners may enter again in future years.

4) Submission requirements

File format

PDF only
Must be industry-standard screenplay format (Final Draft style / professional screenplay formatting)
Required materials (each entry)

Screenplay PDF
Logline (limit: 50 words)
Short synopsis (limit: 250 words)
Writer bio (limit: 100 words) (optional but strongly recommended)
Adaptations: proof you control rights or have written authorization (upload or provide statement + contact)
Page limits

No maximum page limit (as you specified).
Reality check built into policy (without imposing a cap):
Judges will read the full submission, but excessive length may negatively affect scoring on pacing/structure. Writers are encouraged to submit their strongest, tightest draft.

5) Human-only authorship policy

No AI-generated or AI-written scripts. Human-written work only.

Allowed: spelling/grammar tools and standard formatting tools.
Not allowed: any system that generates scenes, dialogue, beats, or rewrites substantial portions of the script.

If discovered, the entry is disqualified without refund.

6) Content standards

To protect a safe, welcoming festival environment:

No explicit pornography
No hate content
The contest reserves the right to disqualify submissions that promote dehumanization, calls for violence against protected groups, or extremist propaganda.

7) Fees, discounts, and deadline

Fee: $50 per submission
Multiple entries: allowed; no limit
Discount: 10% off for paid Texas Authors membership levels (discount code provided to eligible members)
Deadline

Submission deadline: May 1, 2026 (11:59 PM local time as configured in FilmFreeway)
Notifications and announcements

Status notifications: By May 15, 2026
Winners announced: June 6, 2026
Awards presented during the Lone Star Festival event at LSF26.

8) Judging and scoring

Blind judging

Judging is blind. Remove identifying information from:

title page
headers/footers
file name (avoid names)
Two-round system

Round 1: initial scoring to determine category winners shortlist
Round 2: finalist scoring + jury deliberation to select each category winner and Grand Prize

Panel composition

A mixed panel of industry-adjacent judges (writers/filmmakers/producers/community storytelling leaders).

Scripts per judge

Minimum 2 judges per script
Tie-breaking

Head judge decision (final)
Scoring rubric (100 points total)

Each judge scores the following, 1–10 per category, then weighted:

Story & Structure (20)
Character (15)
Dialogue (10)
Originality (10)
Pacing (10)
Visual Storytelling (10)
Theme/Emotional Impact (10)
Craft & Formatting (5)
Market/Production Clarity (concept communicates clearly) (10)
Feedback policy: entrants receive score only (no notes).

9) Awards and winner benefits

Each category winner receives:

Free festival pass to the Lone Star Festival (film festival programming)
Banquet awards presentation pass for one
Public announcement (festival + Texas Authors channels)
Award (trophy or certificate — format to be finalized)
Feature in Texas Authors Magazine
Grand Prize Winner: selected from among category winners and receives the same benefits plus special recognition as the contest’s top script.

10) Rights and permissions

Rights ownership

Entrant retains all rights. Period.
Festival promotional permission (granted by entrants)

Entrants grant the contest/festival the non-exclusive right to use the following for promotion and press:

Title
Logline
Synopsis
Writer name + bio + headshot (if provided)
Short excerpt (up to 2 pages) for promotional/press use
No screenplay is published or distributed by the festival. Promotion is limited to marketing, press, and event programming.

11) Disqualification and integrity rules

An entry may be disqualified (no refund) for:

AI-generated writing or undisclosed non-human authorship
Plagiarism or non-owned IP
Hate content or explicit pornography
Breaking blind judging rules (name embedded in script, etc.)
Harassment of staff/judges or manipulation attempts
Failure to provide adaptation rights proof when requested
Refund policy

Submission fees are non-refundable (standard festival practice).

12) Contact

Questions:
[email protected]
(Use this exact address in listings; it’s the one you provided earlier in the process.)