The Chicago Screenwriters Network, a non-profit organization devoted to furthering the careers of Midwestern screenwriters, launches its first-ever screenwriting contest today.

“We’re very excited,” said Sonny Wareham, the group’s president.
“Since 1995, we’ve tried – through our monthly meetings, workshops and speakers – to get writers from the Midwest noticed by Hollywood. This contest is the natural evolution of things.”

Like other contests, The 2008 CSN Contest will offer cash prizes to the grand prize- winner and runners-up. “But that’s not the real gem,”
explained Wareham. “Through the various connections we have made, we are able to get the winning scripts in the hands of real Hollywood production companies and agents.”

Participating companies include: ABC Family, Vertigo Entertainment (The Ring 1 and The Ring 2, The Departed), Clifford Werber Productions (Sydney White, A Cinderella Story), Alex Rose Entertainment (Nothing in Common, Norma Rae) and literary agencies Intellectual Property Group, Smart Entertainment, LA and Will Entertainment.

“We realize there are many other contests out there. What sets this one apart from the others is that it’s only open to writers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
We’re really trying to get Midwestern voices heard by the studio system, ” Wareham said.

Writers will be able to enter online at www.chicagoscreenwriters.org for an entry fee of $50. The deadline for entries will be midnight, December 31, 2008. A full list of participating readers, prizes and rules can be found at the site as well.

Founded in the spring of 1995, CSN has since grown at almost a geometric rate, with some fifty-plus members actively involved, and nearly 500 members on its membership roll. Meetings are held the first Sunday of every month at the Lincoln Diner, 4008 N. Lincoln Avenue in Chicago.