Media in Full Bloom

A Central Valley Interdisciplinary Conference for Graduate and Undergraduate Students on Film, Television, and Media Studies

Sponsored by the Warrior Bookworms & Wordsmiths, the English Club at Stan State

Contact Email: Warriorwordsmiths@gmail.com

Conference Date: March 13th, 2026

Location: Stanislaus State University, Turlock, CA

Deadline for Submissions: January 19th, 2026

We have extended the deadline for submissions to our spring conference. The Bookworms invite proposals for papers and panels on all aspects of film, television, and media, both old and new. The Central Valley Conference provides a platform for undergraduate and graduate students to engage with professors and colleagues interested in practical, theoretical, historical, cultural, and pedagogical perspectives on the media we love: movies, documentaries, television series, and online media. Topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Narrative analysis of a single movie, multiple films in a genre, TV series, or other related media or media creators
• Remakes, reboots, reimaginings, prequels, sequels, and franchises
• Changing faces in films—recasting and audience responses
• Film Auteurs
• Adaptations from page or stage to screen
• Documentary, experimental, and independent media
• Actors and Acting in Genre Films
• Critical approaches to streaming platforms and digital content
• Film and Media pedagogy and teaching practices
• Lights! Sound! Camera! CGI! The technologies of filmmaking and the cinematic experience
• Environmental, political, or activist media
• Artificial Intelligence and the future of cinema and television

If you are interested in presenting, please send a presentation title, a 250-word abstract, and a brief (one-page) CV to BW & WS at Warriorwordsmiths@gmail.com. Finished papers should have a presentation time of 15-18 minutes. We encourage submissions from first-time, undergraduate conference participants as well as seasoned graduate students. The atmosphere is collegial and welcoming; we at Stanislaus State welcome a diversity of opinion, adventurous thinking, and a free and open exchange of ideas. The deadline for submissions is December 15th, 2025. To chair a special session, please submit the session title, a brief description and justification for the session, and 3-4 abstracts (including individual paper titles and CVs) from session participants. Select papers presented at the conference will be published in Volume 1 of Motion Sickness, the English Club’s annual journal of film and media.

The conference will be held on the campus of Stanislaus State University on Friday, March 13th. The beautiful 228-acre space is situated in the heart of California’s great Central Valley—a short distance from the San Francisco Bay Area, Monterey, and Sacramento. Conference fees will include lunch and a keynote address. Participants may choose to stay late for a special film screening and discussion, with appropriately selected fare to munch as you watch.

For more information contact the English club at Warriorwordsmiths@gmail.com or Tony Perrello at tperrello@csustan.edu.

The deadline for submitting an abstract or a panel is January 19th, 2026. Submissions will be acknowledged immediately, and acceptance notices will be out within a week of submission.