Every Comedy Festival With Open Submissions in January

We combed the internet for comedy festivals that have open submissions during the month of January so you don't have to! We have improv, stand-up, sketch and more covered below! Just click the names of the festivals to follow their link! We'll be updating throughout the month as new info comes in so be sure to check back!

Stand-Up

Asheville Comedy Festival (Asheville, NC) - Deadline. Jan. 1st (show dates Apr. 2-4)

Athens Comedy Festival (Athens, GA) - Deadline January 18th (show dates May 1-2)

Windy City Comedy Festival - Deadline end of January (show dates Aug. 6-9)

Big Pine Comedy Festival (Chandler, AZ) - Deadline Jan. 31s (show dates Apr. 8-11)

Jersey City Comedy Festival - Cheaper fee ends Jan. 31st, overall Mar. 31st (show dates June 9-13)

Ram Comedy Festival (Derby, England) - Deadline Jan. 31st (show dates May 28 - June 6)

Saratoga Comedy Festival (Saratoga Springs, NY) - Early Bird ends Jan. 31st, overall June 1st (show dates Sept. 11-12)

Vail Comedy Festival (Vail, CO) - Deadline Feb. 14th (show dates May 22-24)

Mountain Fresh Comedy Festival (Breckenridge, CO) - Early Bird ends Feb. 14th, overall June 30th (show dates Oct. 8-10)

Corkscrew Comedy Festival (Santa Ynez, CA) - Deadline Feb. 28th (show dates June 19-21)

World Series of Comedy (Various cities) - Use code "JFARR" to submit to all satellites in January. Multiple deadlines, overall Aug. 16th (multiple dates)

Meadowlands Comedy Festival (Secaucus, NJ) - Deadline Mar. 31st (show dates April 2026)

Stand-Up/Digital Short

Bend Comedy Festival (Bend, OR) - Early Bird ends Jan. 31st, overall May 15th (show dates Sept. 4-6)

Film

Austin Comedy Film Festival - Next deadline Jan. 31st, overall June 30th (show date Sept. 19, 2026)

FILM@Vail Comedy Festival (Vail, CO) - Late deadline Feb. 1st, overall Mar. 1st (show dates May 22-24)

Short Film

Funny Under Fifteen Minutes (Hamilton, NY) - Deadline Feb. 8th (show dates Mar. 13-15)

Short Film/Animation

Short Com International Comedy Film & Animation Festival (UK) - Next deadline May 22nd, overall July10th (show dates Sept. 26-Oct. 5)

Fringe

Z Fringe Festival (Virginia Beach) - Deadline Jan.19th (show dates Apr. 10-12)

Kansas City Fringe Festival - Deadline Feb. 17th (show dates July 16-26)

Rik Mayall Comedy Festival (Droitwich, UK) - Deadline Mar. 27th (show dates May 29-June 6)

Brighton Fringe - Multiple deadlines, overall Apr. 24th (show dates May 1-31)

Greater Manchester Fringe - Brochure deadline May 15, overall June 25th (July 1-31)

Sketch

Newfoundland and Labrador Sketchfest (Canada) - Deadline Jan. 12th (show dates May 12-17)

Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Musical/Variety/Podcast

Brisbane Comedy Festival - Deadline Jan. 12th (show dates Apr. 24-May 25)

Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Musical/Variety/Burlesque (and more)

Midsummer Comedy Fest (Stockholm) - Deadline Feb. 9th (show dates June 24-28)

Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Musical/Magic

High Tide Comedy Festival (Providence, RI) - Early Bird ends Jan. 15h, overall Mar. 31st (show dates June 5-7)

Stand-Up/Improv/Musical/Variety/Clown

Hastings Comedy Festival (Hastings, England) - Deadline Feb. 28th (show dates June 1-7)

Stand-Up/Improv/Sketch/Alt Comedy

Glasgow International Comedy Festival - Deadlines Jan. 9th (show dates Mar. 11-29)

Sketch/Character

Dallas Sketchfest - Deadline Feb. 28th (show dates May 28-31)

Improv/Sketch/Clown/Alt Comedy/Character

Dallas Indie Comedy Festival - Early Bird ends Jan. 1st, overall Jan. 31st (show dates Apr. 9-12)

Stand-Up/Improv/Variety

Traverse City Comedy Festival (Traverse City, MI) - Deadline Jan. 5th (show dates Apr. 16-19)

Stand-Up/Improv

Good Vibes Comedy Festival (Memphis) - Cheaper fee ends Feb. 1st, final deadline Feb. 15th (show dates Apr. 16-18)

RISE Comedy Festival (Denver) - Early Bird ends Feb. 28th, overall May 15th (show dates July 24-Aug. 1)

Improv

Hartford Improv Festival - Early Bird ends Jan. 1st, overall Jan. 16th (show dates Mar. 26-29)

Fest of Fools (Tulsa, OK) -Early Bird ends Jan. 4th, overall Jan. 31st (show dates Apr. 2-4)

Northwest Improv Fest (Spokane) - Deadline Jan. 11th (show dates Apr. 23-25)

Happy Valley XL Improv Festival (State College, PA) - Deadline Jan. 15th (show dates May 14-17)

Dogwood Comedy Festival (Raleigh, NC) - Deadline Jan. 20th (show dates Mar. 24-29)

Big Scene Improv Festival (London) - Deadline Jan. 25th (show dates May 13-17)

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