ATX TV Festival Opens Submissions for 2024 Pitch Competition

Three white people on a stage applauding a white man at the ATV TV Festival.

By Jaden Thompson

The ATX TV Festival has opened submissions for its annual “The Pitch Competition Presented by Canva,” offering undiscovered TV writers the chance to have their original concepts and scripts considered by acclaimed writers, producers and executives in television.

The early bird submission deadline is Dec. 1, the regular submission deadline is Jan. 12 and the late submission deadline is Jan. 19. Semi-finalists will be announced on March 8 and finalists on April 12. By April 26, finalists must confirm attendance for the Pitch Competition Live Finale, which takes place from May 30-June 2 at Season 13 of the ATX TV Festival.

ATX TV and Canva are hosting a workshop for prospective applicants with the 2023 Pitch Competition winner Reid Pope, called “How Canva Can Empower You Through the ATX TV Festival Pitch Competition,” to take place virtually on Oct. 24 at 5:00 p.m. PT. Pope will discuss their winning pitch and visuals from last year’s competition and offer advice to attendees. Additionally, a Canva specialist will explain best practices for creating visuals for the ideal pitch. ATX TV co-president Emily Gipson will offer insight into the submission process and the experience of being a finalist. A Q&A will follow the discussion; prospective applicants can RSVP to the workshop here.

ATX TV selects up to 35 semi-finalists, including selections from partners The Black List, Sundance Institute Episodic Program and Inevitable Foundation, to move on to round two. Then, a set of judges (comprised of writers, producers and executives) will choose ten finalists who move on to the live finale round; they will pitch their shows before a panel of judges and live audience during the festival. The finalists use Canva to create presentations for their live pitch.

The Pitch Program provides the ten finalists with one year of support to move forward in their careers. The winner receives a mentorship with one of the Pitch Competition judges or an ATX TV panelist, as well as the opportunity to pitch their series to one of the festival’s studio/network partners.

More information on applying to the Pitch Competition can be found at atxfestival.com/pitch.