The Canadian Short Screenplay Competition Extends Deadline

The Canadian Short Screenplay Competition, the most prestigious screenwriting competition in Canada, recently crowned the winners of the 2008 celebration of the best in short screenplays and has officially opened it doors to 2009's competition hopefuls.

Last year's contest saw entries from all across the world; receiving scripts from as far away as New Zealand and India. Competition founder and producer, David Cormican, says, "We accepted screenplays right down to Auld Lang Syne 2009". Noting that the last online entry accepted for 2008 was electronically stamped on 11:58pm on New Year's Eve.

Many disappointed competition hopefuls were turned away after the deadline, which lead to the decision to incorporate the new graduated deadlines, including the appropriately named (and only available to entrants online) I-Missed-The-Deadline deadline of January 31, 2009 at 11:59PM PST.

Try and not be too late. Cormican hints, "Although we've extended the deadline, the later you leave your entry and the more you procrastinate, the more expensive your entry fee becomes". This new system is in place to try and encourage earlier and more balanced entries to the competition, which will make the review process less taxing and more efficient. Competition organizers and script readers were slammed with so many last-minute online and snail mail entries that it delayed final judging rounds and consequently, announcing the 2008 winners.

Cormican also insisted to make the 2009 deadline truly Canadian this year, pushing the official cut-off for submissions to 11:59pm PST to allow for every possible minute of 2008 Canadian time for writers to polish their scripts before ringing in the New Year.

For complete details on the 2008 Canadian Short Screenplay Competition winners (plus photos), as well as up to date deadline and fee information for entry to the 2009 competition, please visit http://www.yearoftheskunk.com/.

2009 Canadian Short Screenplay Competition NEW Deadlines and Entrance Fees

Kick-Off Deadline: September 30, 2009 at 11:59PM PST (fee: $25)
Early Bird Deadline: October 31, 2009 at 11:59PM PST (fee: $35)
Winter Deadline: November 30, 2009 at 11:59PM PST (fee: $45)
Final Deadline: December 31, 2009 at 11:59PM PST (fee: $55)
I-Missed-The-Deadline Deadline: January 31, 2010 at 11:59PM PST (fee: $75)