The AFA Screenplay Award | American Film Association

The American Film Association Presents

The AFA Screenplay Award

A monthly screenplay competition, with a grand prize announced live at our Founding Gala at The Beverly Hilton on November 8, 2026.

Submit Your Screenplay How It Works
New deadline every month Open now Feature-length screenplays

The Award

A Full Review for Every Writer.

Every screenplay you submit receives a full AFA Script Score, a professional review across six categories with notes on what is working and where to take it next. Each month, one screenplay is named the Official Selection and earns AFA laurels. The competition runs for four months, so four screenplays earn that honor. At the end, the four Official Selections compete, and the winner accepts the Award on stage at the Gala.

What You Get

A full written review of your screenplay, every time you enter
Official AFA Selection laurels if you win the month
A place in the final for every monthly winner
The Award, accepted on stage at the American Film Association Gala at the Beverly Hilton on November 8

How It Works

From Submission to the Stage

1
Submit Your Screenplay
Send us your feature-length screenplay and a one-line logline, then pay the entry fee. Submissions close on the last day of each month.
2
Agree to the AFA NDA
Read and sign our writer-protective NDA on a short separate form. Your work stays yours, and AFA claims no rights to it.
3
Receive Your AFA Script Score
Every submission gets a full written review. It covers what is working, where the issues are, and what to focus on next.
4
Become an Official Selection
Each month, one screenplay is named the Official Selection. It earns AFA laurels and a place in the final.
5
Compete for the Award
There are four Official Selections, one for each month. They compete against each other, and the winner accepts the Award on stage at the Gala.

The Score Card

Six Categories

Your screenplay is scored across these six categories. Each one comes with a written rationale, so you know why it landed where it did.

01
Concept
How fresh and clear the core idea is, and whether it earns a feature.
02
Hook
Whether the opening pages give a reader a reason to keep going.
03
Stakes
What is on the line, and whether it feels real, rising, and urgent.
04
Character (What They Learn)
The change your protagonist goes through, and whether it is earned.
05
Story Arc
Whether the structure builds, turns, and pays off across the whole script.
06
Entertainment
How engaging the read is from first page to last, the quality that keeps pages turning.

The Prizes

Monthly Selections. One Award.

The competition runs for four months. Each month names one Official Selection, and the four Official Selections compete for the Award.

AFA Screenplay Award Official Selection laurel Awarded to each month's Official Selection
Every Month
Monthly Selection
  • Official AFA Selection laurels for your screenplay
  • Named the Official Selection for your month
  • A place in the final, competing for the Award
The Grand Prize
The Award
  • An invitation to the AFA Founding Gala
  • Accept your Award on stage at the Beverly Hilton
  • November 8, 2026

Entry Details

Rules & Fees

Feature-length screenplays. There is no maximum page count, so submit the script you wrote. Your entry fee depends on its length.

Standard Entry
$50
For a screenplay of 120 pages or fewer. You get one full review and one entry into the month's competition.
Over 120 Pages
$50 + $15
For a screenplay over 120 pages. You get the same full review, with an extra $15 for the longer read.
Screenplays over 120 pages. The extra $15 is required. If a screenplay over 120 pages is submitted without it, the entry is held and not reviewed, and we will email you to pay the additional $15 before it goes through review. You may submit as many screenplays as you like, in as many months as you like. The submission deadline is the last day of every month.

Submit

Enter Your Screenplay

You will need your screenplay as a PDF and a one-line logline. Read the two items below, then complete the entry form and pay your entry fee with the matching button. Submissions close on the last day of each month.

Before you submit Read and sign the AFA Screenplay Award NDA How we keep your screenplay confidential

The order form has both options: the standard entry for a screenplay of 120 pages or fewer, and the entry plus $15 for a screenplay over 120 pages. Choose the one that matches your screenplay. If a screenplay over 120 pages is submitted without the additional $15, the entry is held until it is paid. Questions about your entry? Email [email protected].

Questions

Frequently Asked

Any screenwriter who is the sole author of their screenplay, or who holds the rights to submit it. There is no membership requirement to enter. You confirm your authorship, and you sign the AFA NDA on a separate form before you submit.
We accept feature-length screenplays as a PDF. There is no maximum page count. Length only affects your entry fee. Screenplays of 120 pages or fewer pay the standard entry, and screenplays over 120 pages pay an extra $15.
The standard entry fee is $50 for a screenplay of 120 pages or fewer. Screenplays over 120 pages pay $50 plus an additional $15. Use the matching payment button beneath the submission form.
Screenplays over 120 pages (121 or more) pay an additional $15 on top of the standard entry fee. If a screenplay over 120 pages is submitted without the extra $15, the entry is held and not reviewed, and we will email you to pay the additional $15 before it goes through review. Questions about your entry? Email [email protected].
Yes. You may submit as many screenplays as you like, and you may submit in as many months as you like. Each submission is a separate entry with its own entry fee and its own AFA Script Score.
It is the written review every submission receives. It covers a logline assessment, a protagonist verdict, your clearest strength, your biggest issue and what to focus on to raise your score, and a specific rewrite target. It also includes a score card across six categories: Concept, Hook, Stakes, Character (what they learn), Story Arc, and Entertainment. The full review runs one to two pages.
Yes. Your screenplay is kept confidential. You can read our full confidentiality policy from the link above the entry form, or read it here.
Each month's winner is announced at the end of the following month. The competition runs for four months, so it produces four winners. Those four winners then compete for the Award, and the overall winner is invited to accept it on stage at the AFA Founding Gala at The Beverly Hilton on November 8, 2026.
One screenplay takes the Award. The winner is invited to the AFA Founding Gala at The Beverly Hilton on November 8, 2026, to accept the Award on stage.

The AFA Screenplay Award

New deadline every month. Open now.

Every screenplay you submit comes back with a full review. Each month's winner earns laurels and a place in the final. One screenplay takes the Award and accepts it on stage at The Beverly Hilton.