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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Writer Submission Guidelines for the 2012 New York Writers Summit

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We are now accepting submissions for the 2012 New York Writers Summit.   This writing competition which culminates in a festival (hosted by Paulini & Howell Productions) is designed to find and celebrate new and forthcoming writers with significant voices.  There is a limited acceptance period for submissions, so please send in your scripts as early as possible.

The New York Writers Summit is a writing competition that was started in 2008.  Our company is focused on bettering the arts by finding new, wonderful works of art and showing those pieces to the public.  This year's writing competition will conclude with a Professional New York Reading for each category winner as presented in a Festival format.  Our 2008 Festival for the New York Writers Summit was very well received.  Casts and production teams included Tony award-winning actors, Broadway veterans and prestigious directors mixed with talented up-and-comers and a great team of volunteers.  Highlights of such appear on the sub-tab of our website Photos & Press page.

For the 2012 competition, we are accepting submissions from each of the categories listed below:

CATEGORIES

  • Best New Play - This can be a Comedy or Drama.   Play submissions must be full-length and not one acts.
  • Best New Musical - The Book, Music & Lyrics must be the property of the submitting writer(s).  We cannot accept scripts with "cover tunes" unless you are the copyright owner of that material.  Musical submissions must also include at least three MP3 music samples of the score.  The MP3's do not need to be fully orchestrated studio quality, but we need to hear at least the melody line and some form of accompaniment.   If your musical is chosen as a finalist we will contact you and may require further music specifics.
  •  Best New Television Show - This can be a sitcom, drama or mini-series.   All must be scripted and original.   Reality show submissions are not permitted unless they are fully scripted.
  •  Best New Movie - This can be any movie genre but must be a full-length film script.

RULES FOR Potential INCLUSION in the Writing Festival


  1. Script Submissions must be original for all categories and the exclusive property of the submitting writers.  
  2. Submissions cannot be under contract or on hold with any other production companies or exclusive venues.   Paulini & Howell Productions may opt to put your piece under contract should it win the competition and cannot accept pieces that are obligated elsewhere.   Any such undisclosed issue will disqualify the piece from competition.   If your piece has received a fully staged reading or has had any other public performances, your submission must also include the list of dates, names, and performance locations and venues.
  3. All writers must be in good standing with the unions, if they are already members prior to submitting their work to Paulini & Howell Productions.
  4. Authors must allow Paulini & Howell Productions to produce their submissions, should the company wish to do so.  The company is responsible for all aspects of production including selections of director and casting.  
  5.  The author will retain full copyright of the material, but must grant Paulini & Howell Productions free use of the material(s) for the Festival reading and any inclusion exclusively for 2012 New York Writers Summit performance(s).   Exclusive to festival presentation(s) and marketing, residual royalties and all fees will be waived should the author's piece be chosen as a category winner.   Semi-finalists must also allow their name and submission title to be publicized.
  6. Participation in the festival rehearsal process may be needed, but will be determined by Paulini & Howell Productions.
  7. Writers must send a short cover letter / email with full contact information, script title, chosen category submission and  author's name, attaching the full script and any further required category documentation in PDF format.   Send all submissions to:  nywriterssummit@paulinihowellproductions.com
  8. All submission materials must be submitted to Paulini & Howell Productions no later than Midnight (EST) on August 14th, 2012. 
  9.  Any writer whose category submission has been selected as a finalist will receive notification via email from Paulini & Howell Productions.  In order to compete in the final stage of the competition and continue to be in the running to win inclusion in the New York Writers Summit, each writer will also need to return full festival signed documentation, disclosures, and any requested materials in a timely fashion (as detailed in the Paulini & Howell Semi-finalist notification email).
  10.  Semi-Finalists will be determined by no later than September 25th, 2012.
  11.  Category Winners will be posted no later than October 20th, 2012 with festival presentation announcements to follow.
  12.  By submitting your work, you agree to allow Paulini & Howell Productions to use your name, image, title of piece(s) and any presentation of the work (including images and sound) from the festival for publicity and marketing purposes without recompense.
  13.  If you win the competition, Paulini & Howell will grant you a professional reading in New York City (as included in the New York Writers Summit) and attempt to help you market your piece thereafter.  
  14.  Category Winners will receive 4 free tickets to the presentation of their work.   Transportation and housing in NYC to view the presentation shall remain the sole responsibility of each entrant.
We truly appreciate your submissions and cannot wait to read what you have created.   Best of luck in the competition!

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