I won the 2018 Fade-In Horror Screenplay Competition

Seriously... I did.

I got the call yesterday in the car.

My caller I.D. said that the call was coming from Los Angeles and I almost didn't pick it up because I thought it was a telemarketer. Soooooo glad I did.

Now, forgive me, but my recount of the conversation I had is a bit staticy because I was on cloud 9.

See, I submit to so many festivals, competitions, agents, etc. that I often get bogged down and forget precisely where and to who I submitted.
I do keep a log of all my submissions on my computer, but I don't always have access to that.
Anyhow, right now alone I have my latest script Personal Demons (perhaps my best and most marketable horror script... "Marketable" in that it is the first script of mine that concerns teenagers and strictly follows the Hollywood three-act structure... but is still gory, 80's inspired and has all the creatures, action and creeping dread (plus jump scares) of the movies I love) at two other screenplay competitions: Slamdance and Film Freeway's Frights! Camera! Action!

So, the lady from Fade In Magazine (which, by the way, is the industry magazine for screenwriters) told me (and here is where my recollection gets a bit staticy) that I won Grand Prize in their Horror Screenplay Competition.

Now, on the website I am listed as having won First Place (there's Grand Prize, then First Place and finally Second Place). Now, if this is accurate, then I have won $500 (which is most appreciated in a summer where I don't work either my day or night job in academia, haven't saved up my usual nest egg (which I've saved up every year for the last eleven years) and where I only take in less than a grand total, the whole summer, from bartending) and 25 free submissions through Fade In's awesome website GreenLightMyMovie.com (GMM).
Now, the submissions to GMM will be most appreciated.
Last summer I filmed a video pitch for my script Personal Demons and threw it up there.
I not only got requests from agents/producers and studios that I submitted my video pitch to, but I had unsolicited studios/producers/agents contacting me, based solely on the synopsis, asking to see my video pitch and read the script... one of them was Jame (Saw, Aquaman) Wan's production company, Atomic Monster... however, that was back in October and they haven't gotten back to me yet. I should probably drop them a line, huh?

However, I thought I remembered the lady from Fade In saying that their Grand Prize winner has fallen off the face of the Earth (I think she said he's from Australia) and that they were unable to contact him, so, by default, I am now the Grand Prize winner.

Again, though, don't quote me on that. As soon as she told me the words "Personal Demons won the FadeIn Horror Screenplay Competition" I kinda phased out... Which is bad, I know.

However, if I did indeed win the Grand Prize, then that means that I get a free pass to go to the Fade In 22nd Annual Hollywood Pitchfest and $1,000+ towards travel expenses and hotel.
Now, this is the most industry-respected, prestigious and elite of all ptichfests.
Some of you may remember that I went to a PitchFest in 2015, called The Great American PitchFest.
That PitchFest was okay, but it took place in Burbank, CA. (the Fade In Hollywood Pitchfest takes place in Los Angeles proper), it seemed somewhat unprofessionally run (whereas Fade In's Hollywood Pitchfest does not even make the location of the Pitchfest known to you until you have bought a ticket, to avoid people crashing it) and industry professionals didn't seem to take it very seriously (CAA sent an "agent's assistant" and companies like Circle of Confusion straight up left after just a few hours).

The problem here lies in a few things (if indeed I am a Grand Prize winner... which I may have to wait until I get my congratulatory letter... or I am going to e-mail them today to ask the burning questions): the first is that I don't feel as if I have apt time to prepare. See, when I attended my first PitchFest in 2015, I started preparing in January of 2015 and by May (when the Pitchfest was) I ramped up my efforts. That was also cool 'cuz it was an awesome, uplifting and momentum-inspiring way to being my summer. Plus, I stressed for PitchFest, then cooled down the rest of the summer and waiting for responses to trickle in as I wrote, relaxed, exercised, played video games, saw movies... generally enjoyed my summer. When rejection found its way to me, I wasn't crushed... I simply shrugged, kept writing, followed up to agents from whom I hadn't heard yet and moved on.

Fade In's 22nd Annual Hollywood PitchFest is the first weekend in August... which is also my last weekend of summer break.
It is also the weekend my buddy David Minnihan and I trek up to Chicago for the Flashback Drive-In Weekend (a horror convention I did in 2004, then David and I did last year and we've decided to make it an annual staple). Now, this year at Flashback is an especially good year because it is a Child's Play reunion, with the director (Tom Holland), the child star of parts I & II (Alex Vincent... who played Andy Barclay) and actor Brad Dourif (who has been one of my favorite actors for decades, is an Academy Award nominated director and has been on my bucket list to meet for forever!).
There's also 90210, Body Snatchers: The Invasion Continues and Child's Play 2 star Christine Elise (who I had a mad crush on from age 10-13), make-up FX guru Steve Johnson, star of the original Hills Have Eyes Michael Berryman (the weird bald mutant dude) and the primary cast of Ash vs. The Evil Dead (sans Groovy Bruce Campbell).

Now, don't get me wrong: I have been looking forward to Flashback Drive-In Weekend since its initial line-up was announced back in January... but the Hollywood PitchFest is more important.

If nothing else, I need to capitalize on this win.

The last big accomplishment I've had in my screenwriting career was in September of 2016 when Personal Demons made it to the semi-finalists in Shriekfest.

Now, it is a whole lot more prestigious to say, "Personal Demons won the Horror Screenplay Competition for the industry's leading screenwriter's magazine" rather than, "Personal Demons was a semi-finalist in the biggest horrorfest in Los Angeles."

But, in all reality, I may not even have to keep querying agents... Hopefully, they follow these fests and they will come to me.

But I can't rely on that.

I can't rest of my laurels.

I have to keep going and put in the work to see results... can't be entitled and expect things to happen for and to me... I've got to make them happen!

If nothing else, I will find a way to make it work: tentatively I've decided that (if indeed I am the Grand Prize Winner) that I will drive up to Chicago with David (as we're going on Thursday afternoon), spend the night in Chicago with David on Thurs., go to Flashback on Friday and get everything I need done then (photo ops, autographs, the outdoor screening of Child's Play, introduced by its director and stars), then hop a red eye flight to Los Angeles Friday night and use Saturday as a dry run of sorts (a day where I pitch to perhaps agencies and producers that I wouldn't mind placing Personal Demons with, but with whom I wouldn't be 100% heartbroken if they rejected me).

Then Sunday I will get some rest, practice my pitch, regroup and reflect on what I learned on Saturday and then bring my A-game.

The only problem is that pitching ends on Sunday at 7pm.

I would then be getting on a plane around 8 or 9pm, getting home around 11pm or midnight, get picked up from the airport by my girlfriend, take her out to dinner, share with her my stories from PitchFest, then go to bed late and wake up groggy for my first week of back to school professional development. I then get to start off the new school year not in my right mind.

Also, if rejection starts pouring in during that first week PD, I'll feel pretty terrible.

However, and this is the way I should, be thinking, if positive responses start pouring in during that week... then I'll feel elated. 

Time will tell.