Society for Cinema & Media Studies – Translation/Publication Committee
in collaboration with
JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies

CALL FOR TRANSLATIONS, 2025-2026 

JCMS: Journal for Cinema and Media Studies annually publishes one translation of outstanding scholarly or creative work on cinema and media studies. The translation is selected by the SCMS Translation/Publication Standing Committee, which coordinates the annual Call for Translations. The committee shepherds the selected submission into a completed manuscript for publication in an upcoming volume of JCMS. Original texts may be in any language and come from any period or geographic region.  

The SCMS Translation/Publication Standing Committee welcomes two types of proposals: (1) a single text such as a journal article, book chapter, or self-contained section of a book that focuses on a particular topic in a unified, coherent way, or (2) a group of smaller texts that are linked thematically, regionally, or otherwise. If published, the translation should be accompanied by an introduction contextualizing the translated text and its author within the field of film and media studies. The Translation/Publication Committee considers translation an art and discourages the use of artificial intelligence. The author/translator shall disclose to the Translation/Publication Committee and to the editors of JCMS if any AI-generated text was included in the submitted manuscript and undertake to remove such at either the committee’s or the editors’ request. 

The total word count for the final submitted introduction and translated text(s) should be between 8,000 and 10,000 words in English, including citations and other notes. Submissions should follow the JCMS Style Guide. One grant-in-aid of $1,000 total will be awarded to the translator(s) for copyright clearance and as honoraria. Proposals to translate one’s own work will not be considered. Proposals that nominate a third party to serve as translator will not be considered; translator(s) must submit the proposal directly. 

SCMS members are invited to submit proposals, prepared in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style, including: 

1. Complete bibliographical data of the original text(s). 
2. The name(s) and credentials of the translator(s). 
3. A 500-word statement on the significance of the text(s) to be translated. 
4. Information on the copyright status of the original(s). If the text is under copyright, written confirmation of permission to translate the work for publication. 
5. A 500-word sample of the translation. 

Proposals are due by October 25th, 2025. Selection will be made by November 30, 2025, with initial manuscript delivery expected by January 31, 2026 for publication in 2027. 

Submissions should be sent to: Standing Committee Coordinator (committees@scmstudies.org). Please Cc: the SCMS Translation/Publication Committee Chair, Catherine Benamou (cbenamou@uci.edu).

A link to the CFP is available here: https://www.cmstudies.org/resource/resmgr/docs/Translation_Publication_Call.pdf