[Commlist] Call for Proposals: Edited volume on TV series created by Shonda Rhimes

Call for Proposals: Edited volume on TV series created by Shonda Rhimes

*Screen Storytelling:*

*The Works of Shonda Rhimes*

*Edited by Anna Weinstein*

This edited volume on the works of Shonda Rhimes will be the first book 
in a new series to be published by Bloomsbury Academic. Seeking 250-word 
abstracts for previously unpublished essays on television series created 
by Rhimes. Final essays will be 3,000-3,500 words, written for an 
audience of student readers, and will be due in the Spring of 2022.

The SCREEN STORYTELLING series is designed for students, professors, and 
enthusiastic consumers of film, television, and new media who seek 
information about contemporary and historically significant 
screenwriters that is both accessible and critically rigorous. The 
intention with this new series is to bring much-deserved attention to 
screen and television writers who have developed noteworthy films and 
television series of significant aesthetic or cultural achievement, 
critical acclaim, or commercial success, and to offer close readings of 
the films and series from the perspective of story, screenwriting craft, 
audience reception, and cultural impact. Each volume will explore the 
works of a single screen storyteller. The series will place a strong 
focus on examining works by screenwriters often left out of classroom 
syllabi, including women, writers of color, LGBTQ writers, and 
international writers. (Note: /The Works of Jane Anderson/ is slated as 
the second volume in the series.)

*The Works of Shonda Rhimes*

Shonda Rhimes’ television series have left an important imprint on 
television history to date. With/Grey’s Anatomy/now in its eighteenth 
season and new series launching nearly annually, Rhimes is a major force 
in the entertainment industry. Many of Rhimes’ series center on 
complicated female protagonists who are committed to their careers, 
arguably to a fault, while also navigating the complexities of their 
romantic relationships. Famously, Rhimes is known for her diverse 
casting choices and, as such, has helped to challenge and change the 
images of women presented on the small screen, reaching millions of 
viewers around the globe./Grey’s Anatomy/currently airs in more than 200 
territories around the world and is a multibillion-dollar franchise.

I welcome contributions from scholars of film, television, media 
studies, and popular culture, as well as working practitioners, 
including screen and television writers, filmmakers, and playwrights. 
Essays may explore individual works or may interrogate a single theme, 
question, or construct across multiple works.I expect many essays will 
offer a critical analysis of Shonda Rhimes’ work so readers can expand 
their knowledge and understanding of the television writing craft, and 
many essays in this volume will includehistorically sophisticated 
commentaries,exploring Rhimes’ career through the lens of production, 
reception, and creative collaborations and dynamics.

            Possible essay topics could include but are not limited to:

--Women characters and representation

--Women’s desire, dating, and sex

--Representation of women’s work / careers

--Representation of motherhood

--Women of color, representation on screen or behind the scenes

--Television writing craft

--Pilot creation craft

--Showrunning and gender and/or race

--shondaland as an empire

--Recurring themes in Rhimes’ series

--Male characters as sex symbols

--Viewer response / critics’ response

--Business aspects of Rhimes’ series

--Rhimes’ public persona and influence

--/The Year of Yes/

--Recurring partnerships with actresses

--Deep dives into individual series (pilot and episode craft)

Please submit a 250-word abstract along with a 150-word biographical 
statement to Anna Weinstein ((aweinst6 /at/ kennesaw.edu) 
<mailto:(aweinst6 /at/ kennesaw.edu)>) by Sept 30, 2021. Please title the 
subject line of your email: Abstract – The Works of Shonda Rhimes.

Please direct any questions or inquiries to this email address as well. 
I welcome submissions from scholars at all stages of their careers, as 
well as practicing and aspiring screen and television writing 
professionals. Feel free to contact me with any questions about the book 
or series, and please share this announcement with colleagues whose work 
aligns with the focus of this volume.

*Abstracts due Sept 30, 2021*


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