ATX Television Festival Launches Pitch Competition

Maybe you've heard of the elevator pitch? That's when you luck into sharing a 6x8 box with an industry exec and suddenly you've only got seven floors to sell your idea and kickstart a career. No, the ATX Television Festival Pitch Competition doesn't re-create the closed quarters, but 90 seconds is all you're gonna get to get your foot in the door.

Revving up for its second annual fest – and that's happening June 6-9, 2013, by the way – the ATX Television Fest is partnering with screenwriting software giant Final Draft on a pitch competition.

Here's how this is gonna go: You tape yourself pitching your idea for a scripted show – sitcom, drama, anything but reality, really. (And make sure it's your idea, eh? No sticky fingers.) Then you upload the video to a special, unlisted channel on YouTube; fill out some paperwork; cough up a $25 submission fee. Then… you wait for the gods to anoint you.

The top 25 videos move onto the next round, to be judged by a panel of industry folks. Maybe you've seen their work? If you own a TV, then yes, you definitely have: Think Scrubs, Friday Night Lights, Revenge, Parenthood.

The top 10 finalists then compete at next summer's ATX Television Festival before a live audience, which sounds so stressful I'm having sympathetic-hyperventilation for you right now, but hey – maybe that sort of thing floats your boat. In any case, it's probably a smarter strategy than sitting around waiting for your script to work its way to the top of the slush pile. (Psst: There is no top of a slush pile. Only bottom.)

Find out more about the competition here.