2024 Baltimore Screenwriters Competition

The Baltimore Film Office at the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) is accepting entries for the 19th annual Baltimore Screenwriters Competition. This is anopportunity to craft a winning screenplay that highlights Baltimore. The competition awards prizes in both the feature and shorts categories for scripts that are set or able to be filmed in Baltimore. The Baltimore Screenwriters Competition is a project of the Baltimore Film Office in conjunction with film programs at Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, January 17, 2024, by 5:00 p.m. The application and full

guidelines are available online at promotionandarts.org/baltimore-screenwriters-competition/. Submitted

scripts receive coverage from students in the Johns Hopkins University and Morgan State University

screenwriting programs and by local screenwriters and producers. The final screenplays are judged by

industry professionals in film and television, including producers and writers working on projects for HBO

and other studios.

All screenwriters are encouraged to apply. “The Baltimore Screenwriters Competition nurtures writers of

all levels by providing opportunities for screenwriters to have their scripts read, receive valuable feedback,

and gain confidence in their storytelling,” says Debbie Donaldson Dorsey, Director of the Baltimore Film

Office. The top entries in each category will win cash prizes and are scheduled to be announced during the

2024 Maryland Film Festival in May 2024.

In 2023, the 18th annual Baltimore Screenwriter Competition judges — Nina Noble, Ken LaZebink, David

Talbert, and Annette Porter — awarded “Premium Economy” by Michael Harris, “Under the Moon” by Ari

Silver, and “Running Out of Time” by Taja Copeland in the features category, and “Reconstruction” by

Treasure McCorkle, “Beyond Breath and Time” by Mecca Verdell, and “Carpiercer” by Lee Connah in the

shorts category.

Previous Baltimore Screenwriters Competition winners have also received Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund

Fellowships, including 2020 Baltimore Screenwriter Competition winners Stephen Schuyler for "Like You

Think You Know Me," and Chung-Wei Huang for "Squeegee Boys," who both shot their films in Baltimore.

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