Playscripts, Inc. submission guidelines

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Playscripts, Inc. selects a wide variety of new plays for publication: short plays and full-length plays; comedies, dramas, and plays that defy genre; plays perfect for high schools, large professional theaters, or any number of other groups who want to create outstanding theater.

Before you submit work to Playscripts, we strongly encourage you to visit our Playwright Services page and our Submissions FAQ for more detailed information about what we do.
What To Do
In deciding what to submit for Playscripts' consideration, please keep in mind that we are looking for certain kinds of plays in particular:
If your play contains adult content, and is intended for adult audiences, then it must have already received at least one fully staged professional production with published reviews.
OR
If your play does not contain adult content, and could therefore be appropriate for high schools or middle schools, then prior productions and a large cast size are advantageous, but not required.
You may submit any number of plays that fit what we are looking for.
Submission rules
# Electronic submissions are strongly preferred. For instructions on hard copy query letters, see the very bottom of this page.

# Although we do publish and license musicals, the limitations of time and staff prevent us from accepting unsolicited musical submissions.

# We do not accept screenplays.

# Your play must not include material that you do not have permission to use.

# Your play must not be previously published as part of an exclusive arrangement. (Note that most anthology and magazine publications are non-exclusive, and therefore do not pose a problem. If you are unsure, please contact us before submitting.)

# Do not submit a play that is incomplete, unfinished, or a rough draft. Send us the entire completed play.

# Playscripts has no problem with you submitting your play to other publishers simultaneously. If you receive a competing publication offer before hearing back from us, however, please let us know before signing a contract. This way we can expedite our evaluation, and you might be able to weigh more than one publication offer.

# If you do decide to sign with another publisher while your play is still under consideration by Playscripts, you must let us know immediately, so that we do not waste resources evaluating a play that we cannot publish.

# While we do not insist on one particular script format, your play should be clearly formatted and easily readable.

# You do not need to register your play with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to submitting it. Playscripts will register any previously unregistered work in the event of publication. In any event, your work is automatically protected under copyright law from the moment you write it down.
Hearing back from Playscripts
Once you submit a play using the form below, we will contact you immediately via email to confirm that we have received it.

Please do not follow up, unless you have a competing publication offer to report. While we may be able to expedite our decision in the event of a competing publication offer, other follow-up inquiries will not accelerate the evaluation process.

The evaluation period lasts 3-6 months. Playscripts will always respond with a decision, either offering or declining to publish your play. If you haven't heard back from us after six months have elapsed, please let us know.