The Dramatists Guild of America denounces the practice of charging fees to dramatists in order for them to submit their work to a contest, festival, residency or educational event. If an educational institution or other non-profit organization deems it an economic necessity to charge a submission fee, the Guild asks for complete transparency as to specifically how those fees are spent by the organization. Furthermore, the Guild encourages contests and festivals to announce the selection of finalists and winners to all participants.
 
It is important that members understand that submission fees are not the norm and, when required, should offer something significant in return for the writer’s investment.  In the 2007 DG Resource Directory, a little less than one-third of all contests, conferences and festivals cited charged some form of submission fee.  Of those that charged submission fees, only 4% offered something substantial in return (such as a large cash prize, residency or production).
 
The Guild also discourages the practice of placing any other encumbrances on the work related to a finalist’s participation in contests and festivals, like a “participation fee” in order for the play to be presented or a requirement that the writer pay to the organization some portion of subsidiary revenues. Such encumbrances should, in any event, be stated clearly in all of the organization’s printed and electronic materials related to the event.