Lights, Cameras, Books!
Students in grades 6–12 are invited to read a book, create a video trailer, and enter their creations into a contest held by Enoch Pratt Free Library and Baltimore City Public Schools.
Book Trailer Contest
Welcome to our inaugural book trailer contest! Students in grades 6-12 are invited to read a book, create a video trailer of the book, and then enter their videos into a contest held by Enoch Pratt Free Library and Baltimore City Public Schools.
The top selections from the pool of entries will be invited to an exclusive screening at the Central Library in Wheeler Auditorium on February 19, 2026.
Entrants will compete in Middle School and High School divisions for First Place, Runner Up, and Best Black Eyed Susan Book Trailer, as well as some surprise awards!
Contest Rules
Trailers
- Filmmakers, working independently or in a team, must produce a trailer promoting a real, published book, no more than 2 minutes in length. The video can be filmed or animated in any style.
- A trailer will be disqualified immediately should it exceed 2 minutes.
- Trailers that promote books from the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominees will be eligible for an additional award category.
Teams
- Teams can be composed of no more than 5 student filmmakers in grades 6–12. Additional cast members, including adults and younger children, are permitted to appear in films but may not be the primary filmmakers.
- If a film has more than one filmmaker contributing to a film, a single member of each team must be designated for all communications between the contest organizers and teams.
- All filmmakers must sign a form releasing their submissions for distribution and screening in the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Baltimore City Public School system.
Media Usage
- Any footage, music, or images used must be created by the filmmakers or be approved for free use and not violate copyright. No more than 20% of the submission or its elements can be created by generative AI. Any external media used such as stock footage must be royalty-free/submitted via a Creative Commons license.
- Creative Commons images: pexels.com, unsplash.com, pixabay.com, freepik.com
- Royalty-free music: pixabay.com, freemusicarchive.org, musopen.org teknoaxe.com
- Free stock footage: ineedfx.com/
- The Library's guide to finding movies in the public domain
- Use of copyrighted material will result in immediate disqualification.
- All submissions must include written credits for external media used, but these credits do not need to be cited in the film itself.
Excellent (10-8 points) | Average (7-4) | Poor (3-0) | |
|---|---|---|---|
Content | Film is cohesive; tells a clear story about its source book with carefully sequenced, easy-to understand events. Submission shows an awareness of the trailer format. | Film makes sense with only some sense unclear or out of sequence. Shows some awareness of how to present information in a trailer format. | Film is confusing with no clear storyline; the story of the book is not conveyed well through this trailer. Trailer format is not well-used. |
Technical Presentation | Video is clear, free of watermarks, and follows a horizontal film presentation. | Video is reasonably clear and of a good quality with only a few technical issues. | Video is compressed and blurry, affecting the ability of the viewer to engage with the content. |
Sound editing | Uses dialogue, music, and sound effects well. Sound volume is clear and balanced. | Uses some audio effects, maybe some dialogue is hard to hear. | Few sound effects/music, and audio quality is hard to hear |
Creativity | Shows exceptional ingenuity and attention to detail | Some creativity in filmmaking. | Video demonstrates very little creativity or attention to detail |
Efficacy | Excites the viewer and creates interest in the book. | Creates mild interest in the title and may inspire viewers to read the book. | Barely creates interest in the title. |
Find a Book
Looking for inspiration? Search the Pratt Library catalog, visit your local library, or use a database like NoveList to get a recommendation for your next great read. Any real, traditionally published book or eBook is eligible for the main contest.
You can also choose a book from the Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominee list or from your Baltimore City Public School curriculum to be considered for in the extra award categories.
Browse the CatalogSubmit Your Entry
Please check back: information on registering and uploading projects is coming soon.
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