Call for Abstracts/Chapter Proposals

SCREEN STORYTELLERS: The Works of Jaco Van Dormael

Edited by Albert Lee

This edited volume will be part of the SCREEN STORYTELLERS series published by Bloomsbury Academic. Conceived as the first English-language volume dedicated to the works of Jaco Van Dormael, this book will focus on the Belgian storyteller’s work as a screenwriter. Seeking 250-word abstracts for previously unpublished English-language chapters on a broad range of topics that shed light on Van Dormael’s approach to story and screenwriting craft, international reception of his French- and English-language works, and his cultural impact, unique perspective, and creative process. Final chapters will be 3,000-3,500 words, written for an audience of student readers.

The SCREEN STORYTELLERS series is designed for students, professors, and afficionados of film, television, and new media who seek information about contemporary and historically significant screenwriters that is both accessible and critically rigorous. The series aims to bring much-deserved attention to screen and television writers who have created noteworthy films and television series of significant aesthetic or cultural achievement, critical acclaim, or commercial success, and to offer close readings of these films and series from the perspective of story, screenwriting craft, audience reception, and cultural impact. The series places a strong focus on examining works by screenwriters often left out of classroom syllabi, including women, writers of color, LGBTQIA+ writers, and international writers, with most volumes exploring the works of a single screen storyteller.

The Works of Jaco Van Dormael

Over the past four decades, Jaco Van Dormael has touched film audiences worldwide as one of the leading lights of contemporary Belgian cinema. In addition to working internationally in French and English as writer-director on the feature films Toto The Hero (1991), The Eighth Day (1996), Mr. Nobody (2009), and The Brand New Testament (2015), he has written and directed the award-winning short films “Maedeli the Breach” (1979) and “E pericoloso sporgersi” (1985), among others. His films are marked by their innovative storytelling structure, often built on fractured narratives, shifting timelines, and flashbacks as he plays with genre conventions and populates his richly imagined story worlds with unforgettable characters who are delightfully idiosyncratic, tragically flawed, and deeply human. His collaborative approach to storytelling and performance has also led to groundbreaking work in representations that center the perspectives of the disabled. While taking up universal themes of coming-of-age, family, and memory, his work also touches upon philosophical concerns surrounding ethics, free will, and possible worlds. As a visual storyteller, he has worked across platforms in film, theatre, and comics, often taking creative collaboration from one medium to another, with a keen sense of humor and what it means to be human. His film Kiss & Cry (2011), for instance, is a filmed real-time stage work with human hands taking the central role.

Chapters in this volume may focus on individual works or take up a single theme or question across multiple works. Questions or inquiries may be directed to alee248@kennesaw.edu. I welcome contributions from scholars of film and television, media studies, theater, literature, philosophy, and popular culture at all stages of their careers, as well as practicing and aspiring screen and television writing professionals. Please share this announcement with colleagues whose work aligns with the focus of this volume.

Deadline for submissions: Sep. 1, 2026

Along with your 250-word abstract/proposal, please submit a 150-word bio note to Albert Lee, Asst. Professor of Screen and TV Writing (alee248@kennesaw.edu). Please title the subject line of your email: Abstract – The Works of Jaco Van Dormael.

*** For further information about the SCREEN STORYTELLERS series, contact series editor Anna Weinstein: aweinst6@kennesaw.edu. ***