American Story Showcase
The American Story Showcase recognizes scripts, books, short stories, & stage plays in any genre that features a story that captures the American Spirit.
2026 WINNER
BEAUTIFUL
written by Casey Nolan
The true story of Katharine Lee Bates' travels across America in 1893 that inspired her to write the lyrics to "America the Beautiful".
2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
AMELIA EARHART by Michael J. Dunker
AMERICA'S WINEMAKERS: THEIR EPIC 400-YEAR JOURNEY (Pilot: The Grit of Jean Jacques Dufour) by John E. Jacobsen
ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH by Mark Thomas Kelly (based on the graphic novel "Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth" by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean)
ART OF WAR (Episode 1: The Dress) by Mark A. Dahl
BABY IT'S HOT OUTSIDE: RISE OF THE WEATHERMAN by Paul Murdock
BARRY THE HUMAN by Mark Nesheim
BLACK DRAGON by B.C. Baker
BRINGING COLUMBIA HOME by Gary Parker (based on the book "Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew" by Michael D. Leinbach and Jonathan H. Ward)
BRUCE'S HOUSE: AN EPIC 80's HEAVY METAL ADVENTURE by Eric Patton
BY HER HANDS by Camille Prado
COMMITTEE OF FIVE by Kevin Stirling
COOP by Joe Leone
COWBOY COOPER AND THE GHOST TOWN by Ben St. James (based on the picture book "Cowboy Cooper and the Ghost Town" by Ben St. James)
DOG OF THE RAILS by Wayne Johnson
GHOSTS OF ROE by James Wayne Telford
GIN AND SIN by Scott D. Wheeler
GRANDMA'S BUCKET OF MERCY by Robin Carole
GRIMM LAKE by Edward Field & Emery Gare
HOW TO SAVE A DYING WORLD by Ronnie Figueroa
HUNGER by Brian Dorsey
I VOTED by Rachel DeRouen & Tyler Mann
JEFFERSON, FRANKLIN & LARRY by John Martins III
'R GETTYSBURG by J. Alan Hostetter
ROOSTER by Edward Pontacoloni (based on the novel "Rooster: A Field Trial Fable" by Edward Pontacoloni)
THE BEECHER TRIALS by John Gatta
THE HARLEM STORY by Danny Holst (based on the book "The Harlem Story" by Danny Holst)
THE LAST INDIAN WAR by Michael Graf
THE LAST SUNRISE by Blu de Golyer
THE TRIANGLE GIRLS (Episode 1: Ignite) by Jane Ann Gonzalez
WHAT CHEER by Karen Campion
X-BUS (Episode 1: First Response) by Jeffery Allen Yarbrough
2025 WINNER
THE WOLF PACK
written by Tyler Weldon
Ben Murphy faces immense challenges from outlaws, mountain men, Native Americans and the harsh climate, when he moves his family to the newly created Wyoming Territory in 1869.
2025 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
40 SHADES OF GREEN: THE JUNKMAN OF BROOKLYN by Joan Flynn Beesley (based on the novel)
A CLOSE THING by Demitra Papadinis
AMERICAN LIBERTY by Wade F. Wilson (based on the Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave)
BUCKSHOT by Larry Jay Martin
BUFFALO CREEK by Vaughn Roste (based on the book "The Buffalo Creek Disaster" by Gerald M. Stern)
CAT 5 by Pamela Rabadi
DIVORCE IS NOT AN OPTION by Arch Horst and Michael J. Palmer
I IMADE IT TO THE MOON by Karen Campion
MADE IN HEAVEN by Steven Bogart
MAGGIE & FRANKLIN by John Anthony Herring
THE EDGE OF COVIDLAND by Michael Leppert
THE PURPLE HEART by Arnold John Popa III
WHAT WE CARRY (aka FOR THE LOVE OF GUNS) by Jena Mahne
2024 WINNER
THE FRONTIER
written by Jake Abelman
In 1840's America, frontierman and scout Kit Carson guides John Fremont's expedition into California, before joining the Mexican-American War, and engaging in a daring rescue mission after the Battle of Pasqual.
2024 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
4-19-95 by Matt Skuta
A QUIET TOWN by Staton Rabin
A SHERIFF'S WAR by J. Jermaine Jones
AFTERMATH by Jonathan Turner Smith
AT THE MERCY OF FAITH by Samuel Lee Taylor
BANISHED: THE STORY OF A GREAT INJUSTICE by Cody McDevitt
EMMA WHO? by Laura M. Edmundson
FLYING BIRD'S DIARY by Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel
GALLATIN (Pilot) by Ryan Skinner
GHOSTWRITER (Episode One: The Fairies' Midwife") by Lawrence Wells
GIANT ALONG THE PLAINS by Daniel Duren
GRASS THROUGH PAVEMENT by Peter Trivelas
HARDSCRABBLE: THE RISE OF ULYSSES S. GRANT by William Ray
HEMINGWAY COUNTRY by Darren C. Sullivan (based on the short stories "Hills Like White Elephants", "Up in Michigan", "Indian Camp", "The End of Something", and "Soldier's Home" by Ernest Hemingway)
KASHINO by Vince Matsudaira
LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF MONSTERS by Timothy & Cathleen O'Rawe
MEET HIM IN HELL by Janine Meston
NOT MRS. SINGER by John Clive Carter
ORDINARY COURAGE by Richard Stansell-Gamm
PICKLEBALL KILLER by Jim Carroll
POINT OF CHANGE by Tom Lambert
RUNNING by Sean Chandler
SACRED SUN by Michael Louis Gould
SAFE PASSAGE GUARANTEED by Pete Torrey
SILAS by Daisy Weaver
SOMEWHERE, SOMETIME IN AMERICA by Matt Lewis
SUPER ULTRA BIG BLUE SKY COUNTRY by Tony Bustamante & Michael Conley
TELEMACHUS '76 by K.C. Wilson
THE ADVENTURES OF HARRIS & JERMAINE by Amber White
THE BROKEN ROAD by Tommy Anderson
THE ENGINE OF OUR DISRUPTION by Patricia Milton
THE LAST SQUADRON by Bryce Hatch
THE LEAVEN by The Old Coat Society (Sarah Ann Bass, Andrew Juran Bass, Rachel Danae Bass & Catherine Grace Bass)
THE STAR THROWER by Kathleen Welton (inspired by the essay "The Star Thrower" by Loren Eiseley)
THE TRIALS OF THOMAS(INE) HALL by Vaughn Roste
THINGAMAJIGS: AN AMERICAN FAIRY TALE by A.S. Templeton (based on the short story "The Girl Who Owned a Bear" by Lyman Frank Baum)
TIC TALK: LIVING WITH TOURETTE SYNDROME by Dylan Peters
WAY OF THE NORTH by Brian Morgan
