Submission fees and screenwriting contests (and film festival entry fees) largely go hand-in-hand. Why? Because the assessment of creative material takes time. It also takes administration. Serious time, and serious administration.
That’s why every screenplay contest from the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship and Austin Film Festival down, charges an entry fee.
It’s a pure chicken/egg scenario because without any fees, there are no screenwriting contests, and without any screenwriting contests, there are no opportunities to be discovered. The main industry has neither the facility nor the inclination to assess and discover brand new talent, and that is where screenplay contests fill a valuable twin-purpose.
At least with The TITAN Awards you can rest safe in the knowledge that your fees have gone towards the administration and assessment of a legitimate entity with clear and transparent high-level industry connections.