1. Contest applicants must be enrolled as full-time students at Brigham young University in either semester of the 2008-09 school year. No applicant may have worked as a professional screenwriter for theatrical films or sold screen or television rights to any original story, treatment, screenplay or teleplay.
2. This contest has a total award this year of $1,500. At their discretion, the judges may award the entire prize to the writer of the best screenplay submitted; or, if the quality of the submissions warrants they may apportion the prize money between two or more student entries.
3. APPLICANTS SHOULD SUBMIT:
   1. Two typed copies of a short screenplay, 10 pages maximum in length written in standard screenplay format, including number pages. Submissions must either be: A. the original work of the applicant(s), not based, in whole or in part, on any other person's or persons' fictional material, published or unpublished; OR B. if based on another person's work, writer must verify that they have rights to the material or that the orginal work is in the public domain. If the screenplay is a collaborative effort, please include names and contact information for all contributors on the application form. The optional student collaborators must also meet all the applicant qualifications listed under rule 1. The screenplay should be bound with metal brads in three holes. Card stock or heaver covers are encouraged to protect the script; the spine of the script should not be covered (ie. the white page edges should remain visible). No additional materials should be attached to the script (ie. letters of recommendation, synopsis, alternate pages, mention of awards, etc.).
   2. An application form, completed in its entirety, application for the current contest must be submitted between February 24 and February 27, 2009 before 5:00 p.m. in the office of the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, D-581 HFAC. Winners will be announced at a departmental awards ceremony at the end of the semester.
4. Judging will take place in several stages. First-round selection will be made by a committee of judges in the Theatre and Media Arts Department. If additional review is required, selected entries may be forwarded to other qualified writers or producers for final judging. The final selection of winners will be made by the departmental committee. A great deal of emphasis will be placed on the quality of story execution, regardless of the style or content so long as it conforms to the standards of good taste. Please see the following link for resources about good storytelling and about finding spirituality in film: http://tma.byu.edu/index.php?id=1049.
5. In submitting work to the Mayhew contest for writing merit, student may also submit the script to be considered for TMA Advanced Project Production. Please mark on the submission form if the script may also be considered to be produced into a short film. If the script is selected for TMA Advanced Project Production, it will join a list of approved scripts; the Department of Theatre and Media Arts is under no obligation to produce every script selected as an option for production.
6. Each student submitting an entry will fill out a cover sheet (which can be obtained in D-581 HFAC or in the Dean’s Office, 4002 JFSB) giving name, address, and telephone number. The student must certify:
   1. That he or she is eligible by proper enrollment at BYU to enter the contest, and
   2. That the entry submitted is the student's own creative work. The student's real name will appear only on this cover sheet; a pseudonym should be placed on the title page and in the upper right-hand corner of the first page.

Important Note: In addition to the specific rules above the Short Screenwriting Contest, see the sheet of "General Regulations" giving information on the other six Mayhew Student Creative Contests. Both the general regulations and the specific rules for each contest should be followed by every student who enters one or more of the contests.


All submissions require a cover sheet. A cover sheet can be picked up in the Dean's Office 4002 JFSB, Art Gallery 303 HFAC, C-581 HFAC, and C-550 HFAC or downloaded here.