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Congratulations to the winners of the 11th Annual American Screenwriters Association International Screenplay Competition. Read on to learn more about their winning screeplays and writing experience.

Grand Prize: Fireworks
by Jonathan Hall and Hannah Robinson (London, England)

Logline: A thirteen-year-old girl tries to deal with her grief by stealing her dad's ashes from her mum and hatching a plan with an eccentric uncle to launch them in a firework. But when the plan goes dangerously awry, who does a girl turn to?

Hannah Robinson and Jonathan Hall

Jonathan Hall is a fulltime writer and is a staff writer on BBC TV’s drama Doctors. His TV episodes, feature scripts and short films have been nominated, shortlisted and won numerous awards.

Hannah Robinson is a Scottish director and writer and her short films have won prestigious awards throughout Europe (and India!). She currently has a feature script in development with Scottish Screen.

Jonathan and Hannah met on a scriptwriting course at the Mediterranean Film Institute, then collaborated on prize-winning short film In the Mood (written by Jonathan, directed by Hannah), starring the delightful Kelly Brook. The film is not only a festival favorite on all five continents, but is soon to be available on iTunes.

Inspired by the success of their short film collaboration Jonathan and Hannah decided to write a feature script together... which became Fireworks.

The writers note, "We’re doubly honored to win the ASA’s grand prize – and not just because there are two of us!

First and foremost we’re delighted and overwhelmed to win such a prestigious award, but we’re also humbled to be the competition’s first international winners. Fittingly, our script Fireworks was particularly inspired by the warmth, humor and spirit of recent American independent films such as Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Sideways, The Station Agent…

And finally, we’re brimming with energy, passion and ideas and we’re looking forward to coming to America.

Thank you ASA! "

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Second Place: Salvage
by Philip Landa (Belmont, MA)

Logline: A high school outcast falls victim to a violent attack by a suspected serial killer. But unlike the other victims, this lonely teen doesn’t beg for his life. Intrigued, the killer spares him and soon the boy's high school tormentors begin to disappear.

Philip Landa Philip writes: "Thanks to John and the judges at ASA for selecting Salvage as this year’s second place winner. It’s quite an honor.

I write in a number of genres and have been very fortunate that several of my scripts have won contests and have been optioned. With Salvage, I didn’t set out to write a horror script, but was fascinated by what could happen when a kid who has been victimized his entire life finally finds an ally, and it’s a serial killer.

There’s no two ways about it, Salvage is an intense, dark horror script. As horror writers know, this type of material is often dispatched quickly from general screenplay competitions. So it’s truly a testament to the ASA and the judges that genre doesn’t play a part in determining which scripts advance in the competition."

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Third Place: An Impossibly Fine Line
by Bob Bowersox (Chadds Ford, PA)

Logline: In a horrifying story inspired by actual events, an aging homicide detective tracks a ritualistic killer who blurs the fine line between sanity and madness for both of them.

Bob Bowersox has spent much of his entertainment career in front of the camera – over 18 films to date – but he says that it’s in front of the keys of his computer that he draws the most fulfillment.

“I’ve written since I was nine years old,” he says. “I’ve tackled everything – poetry, songs, journalism, short fiction, novels – each with a modicum of success. But nothing makes me feel more in sync than writing a script, which is what I’ve been concentrating on for the last 12 years. I’ve always heard dialogue in my head, and when I dove into writing for the stage and screen, it all clicked for me.”

Bob has a degree in Journalism, but once he’d decided on screenwriting, completed the two-year Screenwriting curriculum at Gotham Writers' Workshop, and followed that with the two-year online MFA curriculum in Screenwriting at UCLA. He felt both gave him a solid foundation in the craft, which he has continued to develop through nearly a dozen scripts, two of which placed high in earlier competitions.

The kernel of the story at the center of Bob’s third-place script, An Impossibly Fine Line, came to him by accident. He was researching African ritual for another story idea when he came across an obscure article on something so horrendous and unbelievable that he at first thought it was fiction.

“But it isn’t,” Bob says. “It’s real, and it’s happening right now, even as you read this. It’s horrifying. That no one has ever written about it before really surprised me. And the scary part is – the practice is spreading beyond African borders, reaching into modern societies. And modern law enforcement has been powerless to stop it because no one involved will speak of it.”

Bob combined this terrifying reality with the story of an aging cop facing his own inner demons, and forged a very personal and dark crime story that explores the razor thin line that separates sanity from madness for all of us. And it has a hell of a hook at the end that you’ll never see coming.

“But no matter how intriguing the story or well-crafted the writing, it does a writer little good if he can’t get it read,” Bob says. “And that’s why I appreciate the ASA so much. The level of exposure they can supply -- an A-list of people who will be afforded access to my script -- is invaluable. It’s a great organization and a very well-run competition. The whole experience has been great.”

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Fourth Place: All Hallows Eve
by Michael Penning (Montreal Canada )

Logline: One hundred years after the Salem witch trials of 1692, a single mother battles terrifying supernatural forces while searching for her kidnapped daughter on the scariest night of the year... All Hallows Eve

Michael Penning Michael writes, "I have been writing screenplays for several years now and have even tried my hand at directing a short film that had some exposure in independent film festivals. But while that minor success was encouraging, my passion will always be for writing.

For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than creating new characters, getting to know them, and discovering how they would react when confronted with challenging circumstances.

Despite having some scripts optioned and produced by small independent companies, that “big break” has been eluding me. Encouraged by some success in other screenwriting contests, I submitted my best work to the ASA’s 11th Annual Competition. I’m sure glad I did.

All Hallows Eve is a tribute to my favorite holiday: Halloween. While there are dozens of films about the meaning and traditions of Christmas, the same can’t be said about the scariest night of the year. So I delved deep into the history and folklore of our spookiest traditions and came up with a script that I think audiences will find thrilling and entertaining.

Having my work recognized by a distinguished organization like the ASA has given me the confidence and motivation to persevere in a tough industry. I’m grateful for the opportunity this contest has given me and I look forward to building our relationship in the future."

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Fifth Place: The Great Pretenders
by Jillian Lauren and Silas Howard (Los Angeles, CA)

Logline: Can a washed up 80s TV star find self-acceptance and true love in the least likely way- as an impersonator of himself?

Silas Howard and Jillian Lauren The screenwriters note, "We hammered out the basic structure for The Great Pretenders in a hotel room overlooking the lights of Vegas' notorious Fremont Street (with occasional breaks for bingo in the lounge). The seed of the story was planted during Jillian's fateful Vegas encounter with a loquacious Jack Nicholson impersonator."

Jillian Lauren is a writer whose articles and stories have been published in numerous journals, magazines and anthologies including Opium Magazine and Flaunt Magazine. Her novel Pretty is currently represented by the Linda Chester Agency. She is working on the screen adaptation of her novel, as well as on a memoir about her years as a teenage prostitute in Southeast Asia (seriously). She received her MFA in creative writing from Antioch University.

Silas Howard, (writer, director, and musician), co-directed her first feature, By Hook Or By Crook, with Harry Dodge. The indie classic was a 2002 Sundance Film Festival premiere and five-time Best Feature winner. Howard's next feature, Exactly Like You, is a Nantucket Screenwriters Colony fellow and was selected for the 2007 Film Independent Directors Lab. Howard's first short documentary, What I Love About Dying, premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Howard received an MFA in directing at UCLA and is a visiting professor in literature at UCSD.

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Links to 12th Annual Competition: Prizes - Enter - Rules - FAQ