Annual Statement of Transparency (2025)

The following report is updated annually as part of our alignment with the Screenwriting Contest Transparency Initiative created by Women of Color Unite (WOCU) in 2022. The initiative demands, “Transparency and accountability in TV and feature film screenwriting competitions, labs, fellowships, and coverage services. This includes making information about the demographics of readers and the judging process readily available, as well as requiring readers to receive sensitivity training. These steps will allow writers to make informed decisions regarding which competitions to enter and services to use. Additionally, we hope that these steps will decrease the odds of readers’ critiques coming from a lack of cultural competency, or worse, racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise biased perspectives.”

How are scripts assigned to readers?
Readers have the choice of being assigned reads automatically, based on preferences they’ve indicated in their reader profiles, or claiming reads manually from those presented to them in their available queue on Coverfly. For each contest, readers are expected to complete a minimum and a maximum number of reads. Managing these minimums and maximums aims to support the greatest possible diversity of readership throughout the reading of submissions and the equity of payment and rewards for readers. Our Coverage Service Manager is always on hand should a reader feel they are unable to provide feedback on a script. In these instances, the script will be offered to the other members of the reader team.

How many different readers read and review a script for each round?
Each submission is read by a reader in the first round. For each subsequent round that a submission progresses to, a new reader reads the script. At the end of each round feedback is collated and discussed internally as we decide which scripts will progress to the next round.

What are the placement criteria for each round?
Placement criteria vary between contests and are defined by the contest score received and by the outcome of our quality assurance process for deciding placings. Each contest’s placings will be decided as a percentage of the highest-scoring submissions, sufficient to ensure that all placings can be awarded whilst providing the opportunity for selection. The percentage of submissions selected for placing and/or progression for each contest will be determined by the number of placings available and the number of submissions received. Before the announcement of placings, a proportion of the highest-scoring submissions will be reviewed by senior members of the Shore Scripts team to ensure the scores conform to the Shore Scripts scoring criteria and the contest’s goals.

Who provides the optional feedback notes? Does their feedback affect script placement?
Within a given reading round it is the same reader who scores the contest entry and provides any requested coverage. Scripts are read once in each round of a contest except in instances where a complaint is upheld and a second reading is agreed upon. In the event of a complaint being upheld any associated contest read will be deleted and the submitted draft will be made available to be claimed by a different reader from the reader involved in the complaint. The objective when scoring for the contest is to assess how well the submitted draft fulfills the goals of the contest. The objective when providing coverage is to assist the writer in the development of their script respecting the format and premise of the submitted draft.

Which scripts are read by the industry judges? How many pages do they read? Does their input affect script placement?
For the Feature Screenplay Contest, TV Pilot Mentorship Program, and the Short Film Fund, our industry Judges each read five full scripts from a selection of the Finalists. Their feedback, along with that received from other senior members of the team, determines the Grand Prize Winner(s) and any applicable runners-up. For finishing funds submissions in the Short Film Fund, winners and finalists are determined by members of the Shore Scripts team.

Readers are recruited in response to advertisements placed by Shore Scripts and from proactive approaches by readers seeking employment with Shore Scripts. Shore Scripts does not insist on any specific academic or professional qualifications. After a review of a resume and coverage sample by the Coverage Service Manager, the applicant will either be informed that their application has been unsuccessful or they will be invited to complete an unpaid trial coverage report for a short script. Potential readers who undertake the trial coverage are provided with guidance as to the format and content and provided with a coverage report template. Readers invited to join the team are requested to provide information as to their reading preferences concerning format and whether they are prepared to read R-rated material. This is to ensure the reader is not inadvertently provided with a script that they might find offensive.
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All our readers are paid for each contest read and for coverage reporting. Each year we review our reader pay rates against revenue available and anticipated submissions. After the first round of a contest the pay scale for reading increases to reflect the prioritization and commitment of time required from our readers to meet announcement deadlines.
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At Shore Scripts, we work hard to provide vital industry connections to emerging screenwriters and filmmakers. Our goal is to encourage, support, and facilitate the development of new screenwriting talent around the world. Sadly, on very rare occasions, we don’t always get it right. Inquiries and complaints can take many forms – from issues of bias, misunderstanding, carelessness, or requests for more information where things are unclear or new. If a writer has questions about their coverage or contest submission, they can raise an inquiry or complaint with us at any time via email.

• For our Feature and TV Pilot Contests, and our Script Development Fund contact@shorescripts.com
• For our Short Film Fund shortfilmfund@shorescripts.com
• For Coverage submissions@shorescripts.com

All of our coverage reports are reviewed by our Coverage Service Manager before they are delivered to the writer. If any bias or any other issue is detected by us, we reach out to review the coverage with the reader and take any further action as appropriate. If we do not detect an issue but the writer contacts us with their concerns, we will investigate and consult with the writer as to the best course of action. If a reader consistently turns in biased, improper, or unfair assessments, we will remove them from our reader team.

In December 2024 we asked our team members to participate in an anonymized survey. All questions were non-mandatory. These are the results from those who chose to participate, representing 40% of the current team.

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As advocates for screenwriters and filmmakers at the start of their careers in a time of unprecedented creativity and yet unequal opportunity, we are committed to creating more opportunities for under-represented writers year on year. As such, we review our internal organizational structure, our policies and procedures, and our submission data on an annual basis to drive our initiatives and contest development. We hope that by publishing an annual transparency report we can impart even greater rigor to this process and do more to facilitate the opportunities for emerging screenwriters and filmmakers.
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• Continuing to increase the diversity of our Reader Team with qualified members in parity with the writers and filmmakers who submit to our funds and contests.
• Working with new prizegivers, partners, and collaborators to reach a wider community of screenwriters and filmmakers.
• Reviewing the mediums through which we offer feedback to writers to expand our inclusiveness including the potential for online consultations and a new line-editing service for scripts not originally written in English.
• Continuing our finishing funds opportunity for short films with a focus on increasing accessibility to projects not originally written in English, to enable a greater number of writers’ films to reach a wider audience.
• Expansion of contest mentorships and placings available to increase the number of tailored industry connection opportunities for writers who come to us via our contests and funding programs.
• Continuing our quarterly outreach to writers who use our services to gain their feedback on their experience and suggestions for improvement, and continuing our annual program of review of which this transparency initiative forms a part.