The judges have spoken and we're thrilled to announce The Forsaken by Charles Robert Mahoney as the grand prize winner of the 2013 ScreenCraft Action/Thriller Script Contest. It's a tough and lean, character-driven script that boasts a hugely entertaining tone, an ambitious structure, believably-scaled action sequences and a triumvirate of fun, sharp central characters. In a genre (not to mention an industry) that has far too few worthy female roles, The Forsaken has two. Here's the logline:

Upon learning that they have been hired to kill each other by the same mysterious organization, a tough-as-nails former female soldier turned killer-for-hire, a young stripper from the (very) wrong side of the tracks and a lonely, disgraced private investigator team up to take out those who want them dead. 

"As the father of three incredibly dysfunctional assassins, I am proud that their story was selected by Screencraft as this year’s Action/Thriller Contest Winner.  As a writer I am blown away by the quality of the feedback I received and thankful for validation that this opportunity has provided," said Charles Mahoney.

The runner-up is Catalyst by Scott Wascha. Logline:

A prodigy software engineer wakes up in the hospital with no memory and must rely on a mysterious woman to help him rediscover who he is and why he is being hunted by the powerful tech company he works for.

"I am thrilled and grateful to ScreenCraft for the recognition and look forward to this incredible opportunity," said Scott Wascha.

Both The Forsaken and Catalyst are confidently written screenplays.  They blend high-concept premises with affecting character work, suspense and thematic focus. The action sequences are highly visual and inventive, and they are tailored specifically to the quirks of their protagonists.

In addition to cash prizes, ScreenCraft consultation and phone calls with literary managers, our top two winners will receive a year’s subscription to Celtx screenwriting software and preproduction application suite.   Here are the excellent screenplays that comprise the rest of the top ten finalists:

• Brackish Water by Noah Harald
• Children of the Sun by Ryan Gavan
• Hatchet's Plan by David Weston
• Narcosis by Chris Drzewiecki
• Reapers by Peter Nelson & Robin Russin
• Sawbuck by Mark Strauss
• The Procurist by Mark Townend
• When The Sun Goes Down by Scot Eric Candiotti

The judges included studio readers and development executives.  Our featured judge was producer Lucy Mukerjee, Vice President of Development and Production at After Dark Films.  Congratulations to the 2013 finalists, all of whom have crafted memorable screenplays. See the semi-finalists here. Thank you to all who submitted.  Keep writing!