Lights, Cameras, Books!

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. 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! 

The top selections from the 2026 pool of entries were screened at the Central Library in Wheeler Auditorium on February 19, 2026.

Thank you to everyone who submitted an entry for the 2026 Lights, Camera, Books contest! Check back soon for more information about the 2027 contest.

2026 Entries

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.

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.