In a posting on the Done Deal Message Board, someone asked if the Fade
In Screenwriting Contest was worthwile. I have no personal experience
with the contests -- although there have been complaints on
misc.writing.screenplays -- but I've had some horrific experiences
with Audrey Kelly, the woman who runs the magazine and the contests,
and I want to warn as many people as possible.

Below is my posting from the Done Deal Message Board:

My advice is to avoid anything connected with Fade In Magazine. Audrey
Kelly, the woman who runs the operation is very, very bad news. She's
stiffed me and at least one other writer for articles written for
magazine. The story, Slush Pile, appeared in the Winter 2002 issue of
Filmmaker and has been mentioned several times on this discussion
board. In the meantime, she used a humorous questionnaire I wrote
without permission (or credit) and refused to pay me for that, too.

The other guy (whose suit predates mine) collected after a long, drawn
out struggle. [Kelly does business through a mail drop. You have the
sheriff serve the people who run the mail office – perfectly
legitimate –and she acts like she wasn't served, fails to appear,
defaulting, then appeals, etc., wasting hours and hours of your time.
It happened to both of us.] After two lawsuits, I have a judgment
against her that she baldly refuses to pay, claiming that she no
longer has anything to do with the corporation I won the judgment
against.

To save myself some time, I'll paste a piece of an e-mail I sent to
Kelly on July 9th, 2002, before I filed my second suit against her:

"In our court appearance on June 25th, 2002, you said that I needed to
file suit against T.W.N., Inc., and the proper agent for service of
process. Yet you refused to divulge who that agent is, in spite of
that fact that you are still editor/publisher of Fade In Magazine
(your web site promises a new issue next month) and, it seems, its
sole full-time employee, and would certainly be privy to this
information. My subsequent investigation into the matter revealed that
you resigned as the registered agent for T.W.N., Inc., on October 1st,
2001, and, as far as I can tell, no one has taken your place
[According to the State of California, she was once again listed as
the agent of service as of August 2002]. If someone has, I need you to
give me his or her name, in writing, immediately.

It's a common practice for those trying to avoid lawsuits to hide
behind various different corporations. In the last year and a half,
you have also incorporated under the names FI Ventures, Ltd.
(3/15/2001) and Fade In Publishing Group, Inc. (4/12/2002). The latter
lists Sarah A. Kelly as the registered. Is this, in fact, you? And has
Fade In Publishing Group absorbed TWN, Inc., becoming the proper
entity for me to file my suit against?"

Of course, she never responded.

If anyone wants to know how Kelly does business, I will gladly forward
you our e-mail correspondence. It's long and, at times, hilarious. In
the meantime, like the other writer (I know of) who won a judgment
against Kelly, I'm going to have to sic a collection agent on her,
which will probably cost me 50% of what I won in the lawsuit, but I am
tired of dealing with this woman.