True Story Showcase

The True Story Showcase recognizes scripts, books, short stories & stage plays in any genre that feature a story based on, or inspired by, true events.

2024 WINNER

O'KEEFFE

Written by Margaret Walsh

Artist Georgia O'Keeffe travels to New Mexico in 1929 and becomes a world-famous painter known as the "Mother of American Modernism".

2024 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

A WHISPER FROM WITHIN by Thomas Bentey (based on the autobiography of Theresa Gattuso O'Connor)

A BRAND NEW DAY by Lissette Mehl

A CITY CLEAN & GOOD by Daniel Lin Worthen

A QUESTION OF CHOICE by Cody McDevitt

A TRIP TO THE BEACH by Lesley Ann McDaniel (based on the memoir "A Trip to the Beach" by Bob and Melinda Blanchard)

ABE & EVERETT by Alan Sproles & Lizanne Southgate

AMELIA EARHART by Michael Dunker

AMERICAN LIBERTY by Wade F. Wilson (based on the book "Life of William Grimes, The Runaway Slave")

AUNT-JU by Heino Heimann

BLUE BUTTERFLY by Geno Marx

BUFFALO CREEK by Vaughn Roste (based on the book “The Buffalo Creek Disaster” by Gerald M. Stern)

BY THE RIVERS OF BABYLON by David Greenberg

CAN'T TELL by Donna Kipp

CONCRETE WINGS by Beverly Gandara

EL MALE by Leonardo Mileikowsky & David Mileikowsky (based on the life of the famous cantor Sholom Katz)

EL NEGRO THE CHOSEN ONE: Son of King Solomon by Wadell G. Jones Sr.

END OF THE LINE by Nickolas Gilbert

FIRE IN THE KINGDOM by Ronald L. Ecker (based on the life and works of William Tyndale)

GHOSTWRITER: Episode 1 "The Fairies' Midwife" by Lawrence Wells

HAHA by Sophia An Porter

JEB by Craig Bettendorf

NOISE ELECTRON ATTACKS by Fujio Torikai

OVER THE HORIZON by Stephanie Parney & Nicholas Roy

PRETTY BABY: THE TRAGIC DEATH OF MARION PARKER by Don Stroud (based on the book "Butterfly in the Rain" by James L. Neibaur)

RYAN LEAF IS UNWELL by Richard Hoffman

SCRIPT AVENUE by Daniel Bodenmann (inspired by the autobiographical novel "Script Avenue" by Claude Cueni)

THE COMPANY by James Rodney (adapted from the book "Corporate America & The N-Word" by James Rodney, which is based on the true-life story of former Whirlpool employee Carlotta Freeman)

THE FIRE UPSTAIRS by Hunter Burke & Nick Lavin (based on the book "Let the Faggots Burn" by Johnny Townsend)

THE GIRL FROM KRAKOW by Staton Rabin (based on the book by Alex Rosenberg)

THE GRIND by Terence Nigel Fisher (adapted from the book "The Grind: Tales from the Turf" by Armand Sands)

THE PROMISE LAND & THE PROMISED LOVE by Sanya Kongdara (based on the true story of Mark Kongdara)

2023 WINNER

PRIVATEER

written by Raphael Broussard

When pirate and privateer Jean Lafitte's fleet is captured by the U.S. Navy, he negotiates a pardon in exchange for helping General Andrew Jackson defeat the British at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. (Based on the life and exploits of Jean Lafitte).

2023 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

A CITY CLEAN AND GOOD by Daniel Lin Worthen.

ADVENTURE CAPITAL by Ruben Soto.

ANGEL EYES by Richard Mauro.

ASH by Dave Stockwell (based on the nonfiction book "Route 9 Problem: The Battle for Lang Vei" by Dave Stockwell).

BEDLAM ON THE RAILS by Wayne Eugene Johnson (based on the book "Bedlam on the West Virginia Rails" by Wilson Casey).

BILLY AND GEORGE by Ken Jones and Darryl L. Harris.

BILLY THE KID (Episode 1) by Steven Sasso.

CALL ME DEBRA by Agustin S. McCarthy & Melanie RW Oram (based on the memoir "Not Until You Have Walked in My Shoes" by Debra J. Hopkins).

COMMITTED by Jill Morley (based on the book "A Marked Woman" by Joan Foor).

DUKES by Tim Tuchrello (story by Mohamed Mirghahari & Scott Shepard).

FANFARE FOR THE COMMON GIRL by Laurie Nelson Altenbern.

HOBEY by Tom Mackie.

LIKE HIM by Brian McGrath.

LUDLOW by Sarah Kennedy.

ONLY APPARENTLY REAL by Michael Judd Richter.

PURSUIT OF PARADISE (Episode One: From Home to War) by Thomas N. Smith (based on the book "Pursuit of Paradise: The Story of an East Texas Farm Boy, The Pacific War, and Love" by Thomas N. Smith).

RITCHIE BOY by Alan J. Field.

SAVING MARK TWAIN by Staton Rabin.

SUPREMACY by Rosalyn Rosen.

THE POSITIVE KID by Robert Finoccoli.

THE TRAVEL WRITER by Laurence Deblinger (based on Robert Louis Stevenson's life and his travel writings "The Amateur Emigrant", "Across the Plains", and "The Silverado Squatters").

VOYAGER by Damien Mulvaney.

WHACK-A-MOLE (Pilot Episode "Into the Cabbage") by Amanda Boyden and Tana Parry.

WHATEVER IT TAKES by Drew McInturff.

2022 WINNER

HARPERS FERRY

by Kirby Heughan

An abolitionist attempts to ignite a slave rebellion prior to the Civil War.

2022 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

4-19-95 by Matt Skuta

ASH by Dave Stockwell (based on the book "Route 9 Problem: The Battle for Lang Vei")

BANKING THE COALS by Judi Robinson

BENAVIDEZ by Davy Godfrey & Tabata Godfrey

CAN'T TELL by Donna Kipp

COLOR ME CROOKED by Don Desrosiers

ELMAS by Paul Kazandjian

FINAL BLOW by Simon Iliopoulos

HART CRANE by David Kaneen

JOHNNY by Zackary D. Hill, Joshua Riffle & Matthew D. Riffle

KENT by Sarah Granger

LOBOS by Sonny Rios

MANO NERA (BLACK HAND) by Samantha Caprio-Negret & Richard Price Sorin (Story by Philip J. Caprio)

MARSHAL BASS LAW by Sterling Daniels

NO. 7 by Alan J. Field & JanEric Ohrn

QUEEN OF HEARTS by Kathleen Welton

SHAOLIN WOLF-MAN by Tom Freyer

THE DEVIL & DICK GREGORY by Sean Slater

THE FIGHTING FIRST by Alex P. Stephens

THE JAMES KING VERSION by David Schroeder

THE NINE LIVES OF WALKER HARRIS by Vaughn Roste | Story by Derek Harris

THE PEAR TREE by K. M. Sandrick

TWO NIGHTS AT THE PINE STREET INN by J. Christopher Haslip

YOU AIN'T NEVER GONNA BE SHIT by Ken Lingo

Z by Judy Belshe-Toernblom

2021 WINNER

RENDERED SAFE

by Jeff Ingber
Adapted from the book "Rendered Safe: Tales of an NYPD Bomb Tech" by Jeff Ingber

The son of a career criminal becomes a legendary NYPD Bomb Squad Detective, escaping death numerous times and solving the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

2021 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

7 SOULS by Judy Belshe-Toernblom

42 B by Patrick Gamble

A DYIN' BREED by Denny Rodman

ADORABLE: THE SARAH FURAY STORY by Mitch Smith

ANY AND ALL by Wayne Geschwindt

BASS REEVES: LEGENDARY LAWMAN by Steve Dini

BECOMING TENNESSEE by Judith Richland

BLACK MOLD by Carlos Guerrero

BOB & RAY by Nicole De Sapio & Michael De Sapio

DIAMOND GIRLS by Deni B. Sher

GESUALDO by Vaughn Roste

HEAVENS FALL by John D. Murphy

I ENJOY BEING A GIRL by Brandon Krajewski

IF WALLS COULD CRY by Patrick Wallace

IN THE RING WITH GIANTS by Paul Gordon

MAMA DUCK by David Gray

MAN OF ANOTHER AGE by David S. Warren

MEREDITH VS MISSISSIPPI by Lawrence Wells

MICHAEL FUCKING BAY by David Olson

ORDINARY COURAGE by Richard Stansell-Gamm

PESHTIGO! by Randy L. Bixby

PRAYING MANTIS IN A JAR by Rosalyn Rosen

ROANOKE by Joe K. Gilberto

SAME SAME BUT DIFFERENT by Craig Brown

SANDS by Jay Kanzler

TAL JONES: A BLACK OIL LEGACY by Pamela J. Richardson (story by Bernard Moore)

THE ADVENTURESS by Damien Mulvany

THE DRIVER by Christina Babinsack & Kristine Rodas-Callister

THE MAGICAL POWERS OF PROF by Michael Wayne Wojcik

THE POET AND THE PIXIE by Phil Nohl

THE SPLIT by Nicola Green

THE STORY OF ROSE by Jeff Edmond

TWO NIGHTS AT THE PINE STREET INN by J. Christopher Haslip

UNEQUAL JUSTICE by Laura Puccia Valtorta

YOUNG JOAN by Charlotte Sheppard

2020 WINNERS

BOOTH (Episode 1: "A Bad Hand")

by Thomas R. Cummings & Philip David Black

The most renowned American actor of his era trades fame, fortune, and family for a chance to gain an everlasting legacy as the savior of the Confederacy. Orchestrating a conspiracy of sympathizers, he plots to remove his biggest obstacle...the most beloved President in United States history.

OPERATION BABYLIFT

by John McCarney

A maverick airline CEO, a Volkswagen driving hippie, and an Iowa housewife risk their lives to save discarded mixed-race orphans in collapsing war torn Vietnam.

THE ONES INSIDE

by Alysia Sofios

Adapted from the book "Deadly Devotion" (previously published as "Where Hope Begins") by Alysia Sofios and Caitlin Rother

When a cult-like mass murder rocks a California town, a career-obsessed local news reporter must choose between her shot on the network or helping the brainwashed survivors of the crime.

TIPPING THE SCALES

by Michael Anthony McMillon

A functioning alcoholic businessman with depression struggles to find the balance between chasing his dream - acting in, and writing, Hollywood movies - and his moral responsibility to support his complicated family who solely rely on him for financial security.

2020 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

ANGELO by George Scholomite

BLIND JUSTICE by Ramona L. Taylor

BLOODY WILLIAMSON by Kristel Taylor

DEATH OF A REVOLUTION (Episode 1: "Hero of the Revolution") by Marshall S. Ferrin

DEATH OF A REVOLUTION (Episode 4: "Reign of Terror") by Marshall S. Ferrin

DIORBIVOL by Damien Mulvany

DUCHESS COUNTY by Michael Martin de Sapio

FAMILY PLAYBOOK by Michael Kenner

HEAVY (Pilot Episode) by Collette Legault

HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW by James Leon

LAST DAYS OF LAVENDER by Amanda Boyd

MAKING A KILLING IN REAL ESTATE by Thomas R. Cummings

MAMADOU THE GOLDEN HANDS by Mansa S. Mane'

MARSHAL BASS LAW by Sterling Daniels

MEMEMORMEE by K.C. Wilson

MODERN ART by Laurence Fuller

OFF GRID by Magnus Leijon

QUIET ON SET by Rose Sanchez

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS BREAK by Joe Mousakheel

THE CALF AND THE LADLE by Andrew Stone

THE CHRISTMAS NOTES by Craig Clyde

THE FORGE by Howard W. Robertson

THE PROVEN KILLERS ARE STILL FREE by Paul Gordon

THE REFUGEE by Sydney Deeter

THE TRUE STORY OF THE S.S. REX (Pilot Episode) by Paula Dixon

THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS by Danny Sheehy

THE WAY WE WERE (Episode 1: A Day in the Life) by Rome Amari Mubarak

YOUNG WIDOW COFFIN by Scott Carneal

2019 WINNER

THE NIGHT WITCHES

by Steven Prowse

With wood and canvas biplanes, no radio, no lights, no defenses and no parachutes, just bombs, these WW2 Soviet pilots terrorized the German front line night after night. They just happened to be women.

2019 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

40 BILLION by J.J. Frey

BAD PERSIAN DAUGHTER by Sara Gharagozlou

BEFORE SHE WAS JOAN CRAWFORD by Crecia Mathalia

CARDINAL VIRTUES by Lawrence Whitener

DEATH FENCES by Ron Chepsiuk

DREAD PIRATE ROBERTS by Mariia Konstantinova

ELMAS by Paul Kazandjian

FLYING BIRD’S DIARY by Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel

HEAL by Dave Tolchinsky

HEARTSTONE by Michael Williams, Robert Biheller andPhillip Margolin

IT STARTS WITH A WHISTLE by Tom Cavanaugh

MARSHAL BASS LAW by Sterling Daniels

No. 7 by Alan J. Field and JanEric Ohrn

SHE TOUCHED ME by Timothy Wayne Folsome

THE ICE KING by Nestor Villalobos

THE MAGNIFICENT MID-CENTURY MET by Nicole De Sapio

THE MONKEYPOD by Dane Pizzuti Krogman

UNDERTOW by Louisa de Cossy

2018 WINNER

COLORBLIND (The Legacy of Alvin Bell)

by Pamela Peak

It’s the 60s. An unusual group of white grade school kids, put their lives on the line to defend their beloved black teacher against racism, then willingly do it again when they reunite some thirty-five years later to honor the man who profoundly impacted their lives

2018 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

$40 BILLION FALSE CLAIMS by JJ Frey

BATTLE ROAD by Lawrence Pruyne

BEFORE SHE WAS JOAN CRAWFORD by Crecia Mathalia

DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE MULE GOING BLIND by Betty Tucker

KNOCKIN’ ON HEAVEN’S DOOR by Debra Pittman Tobin

LITTLE THINGS MEAN A LOT by Michael Monteith

NAPOLEON by Ian Burns

PSYCHOTIC by Douglas Lund

REMEMBERING LIZ by Joan Beilstein

SAY NO MORE by Salahudin Vance and Toby Osborne

SCAPEGOAT by Emilio Corsetti III

THE CRAWL UP by Gabriell DeBear Paye

THE FIELD - CPS INVESTIGATION by Darran Sampson

THE THURSDAY WHALER by Damien Mulvany

WISCONSIN KRUEGER’S 1918 by Dick Corman

2017 WINNERS

PUNCH CARD GIRLS

by Emily Aspland

In 1960’s Birmingham – the industrial heart of England – ambitious working class girl Maggie Goodwin strives to make a name for herself in the new and innovative world of computer programming. But her social status, gender and disreputable Black Country family mean she’s got her work cut out for her in a world where men are in charge and women are just Punch Card Girls.

ZIGI

by Jeff Eagle

Story by Max Levine and Jeff Eagle (based on the life of Zygmund Leboshevitz)

The true story of an Auschwitz survivor who reinvents himself as a butcher in racially unstable Brooklyn.

2017 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

$40 BILLION FALSE CLAIMS by J.J. Frey

BALL OF FIRE by Sean Coleman

FIVE STAGES TO FINALLY by Liliana Quiroga

HEAVIER THAN AIR by Bill Levinson

HOSTAGE: THE TRUE STORY OF A KIDNAPPING by Slavica Bogdanov

IN BAD COMPANY by Ke De Sol

LAST STOP by Tommy McInnis

LIONS OF THE SEA by Jessi Thind

MAN AT THE FOOT OF THE BED by Joey Madia

MARGARET by A.K. Russell

ONE BLADE by Robert Drusetta

REAFFIRMED: THE ROBERT DAVIS SOTRY by Mark Daniels

RINGS OF TRIUMPH by Greg Hill

THE DECLINE OF DAISY DE MELKER by Tony Bryan and Maureen Ann Bryan

THE HOUSE OF ESTHER BIRD by Rebecca Stallard

THE NEW WINE by Matt Pinard

THE SALT BOX by Robert J. Rogers

TRITON by Marc DeLamater

VON $TROHEIM by Nevada McPherson

WATCH YOU BACK, KHADAR by Taju Omolaran

YOU GOTTA DANCE by Bryant Daluz

2016 WINNERS

AFTER THE STORM

by Richard Willett

Stricken with polio in his thirties, Franklin Roosevelt resists identifying with the “crippled,” but then finds new life and hope within the community of handicapped people who pilgrimage to his hideaway in Georgia.

HELL HOUND

by Giancarlo Fusi

Episode One “The Legend of Robert Johnson”

During the Depression, a black sharecropper’s burning desire to be a traveling Bluesman leads him to sell his soul to Satan at a Mississippi crossroads to become the greatest guitarist ever.

KUNG-FU: THE GREAT BEGINNING

by Atul N. Rao

Episode One: “The Barbarian”

Based on the legendary tales of the Bodhi Dharma

Giving up on his Buddhist mission in Southern China, the Indian monk, Bodhi Dharma seeks passage to the Himalayas. Unfortunately, the Northern Emperor has plans to use him as apolitical pawn and forces him to stay under the watchful eye of the sadistic Warlord Peng.

PASSING THROUGH

by Craig Clyde

From the Translated Diaries of Berhnard Goldstein by Dr. Sam Goldstein

Bernie Goldstein did the impossible, more than once, just to find the woman he loved.

REACH FOR THE SKY

by Eric Carlson

Based on the true story of William Ghan

In 1964, a 26 year-old industrial arts teacher, accepts a position in a small rural Missouri high school where he defies the status quo and motivates a group of poor performing students to build a fully functional single seat airplane.

SHAOLIN WEREWOLF

by Tom Freyer

Based upon the life of Tai Djin

In nineteenth century China, a reclusive kung fu master shunned for his fur-covered face must lead a band of monks into battle against the Imperial army and treacherous general to save his Emperor and country.

THE TWENTY-ONE GUN SALUTE

by Ronald Lawson Ecker

A conflict of wills between U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and Mexican dictator Victoriano Huerta leads to a U.S. invasion of Veracruz.

2016 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

$40 BILLION FALSE CLAIMS by J.J. Frey

A FACE TO PAINT by KT Parker

A FEARLESS MIND by Zakaria Mir

BEFORE SHE WAS MOMMIE DEAREST by Crecia Mathalia

CRAZY CHARLIE by Ron Chepsiuk

FALLS CITY by Kit Wilson

FIGHTING FOR LIFE by Terry Miller

FOX CO. by Wayne Geschwindt

JOHN WARE by J.P. Hills

LION OF THE SEA by Peter Israelson

ONLY IN AMERICA by Andrew Garrett

PIPPA’S SONG by Diana Mitchell

RUTH by Caroline Slocock

THE PLAINTIFF by Cliff Barnett

THE SOYBEAN RINGS AGAIN by Lee Liu

WHITE KNIGHT by Susan Feehan

WIDE OPEN by Darla Phillips

2015 WINNERS

(the 2015 competition was combined with Adapted Story Showcase)

COLD QUIET COUNTRY

by John Spare

Adapted from the book “Cold Quiet Country” by Clayton Lindemuth

A young drifter accused of a vicious murder and kidnapping battles to stay one step ahead of the law during the worst blizzard in a century.

HAYMAN HOUSE

by Jim Macak

A young female minister two years out of Idaho farm country is drafted to start a rehab program for prostitutes in Los Angeles County. The results — dramatic missteps, heartbreaking failures and an occasional glimmer of hope.

THE KIDS FROM NOWHERE

by George Guthridge & Deborah Schildt

Adapted from the book “The Kids From Nowhere” by George Guthridge & Deborah Schildt

Coached by a teacher who is becoming increasingly ill, six Eskimo whaling village students, previously labeled “unteachable,” must overcome staggering educational obstacles and wrenching emotional difficulties in their quest to become the only team of Native Americans ever to win national championships in academics.