Projections
The Journal for Movies and Mind

Open Call for: 
The Stephen Prince Memorial Essay Prize

Editor: Ted Nannicelli, University of Queensland

About: 

The Prize, sponsored by The Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI) and Projections: The Journal for Movies and Mind, is awarded in memory of Stephen Prince. Over the course of his distinguished career, Stephen was both the editor of Projections and president of SCSMI, as well as the president of the Society for Cinema Studies. An embodiment of the interdisciplinary, inquiry-driven spirit of SCSMI, Stephen was a film critic, historian, and theorist. He authored important books and articles on a variety of topics including visual communication, digital effects, and film violence to name just a few. He was also a cherished colleague and teacher.

Guidelines:
1.	Aim: The aim of the Prize is to encourage and reward new research that, broadly speaking, approaches the study of moving images from the cognitivist perspective that guides the activities of SCSMI, and that falls within the aims and scope of its affiliated journal, Projections.
2.	 Amount: The amount of the Prize is $500, plus the payment of Open Access Gold fees ($1200) for publication in Projections and a travel grant of $1000 to present the paper at the annual meeting of SCSMI. 
3.	Frequency: The Prize will be awarded biennially. However, SCSMI and Projections reserve the right to decline to award the Prize in any given year. In the years that the Prize is scheduled to be awarded, a general call with a deadline will be made at the start of the year. Any eligible submission to Projections will be considered if the author(s) self-nominate at the time of submission.  
4.	Eligibility: The competition is open to early career researchers (post-docs, adjunct, non-tenure track, and tenure-track scholars) who have received their PhD within the last seven years (at the time of submission), as well as current postgraduate students. For submissions that are jointly authored, only the first author will be required to meet the eligibility criteria, and that person will be named as the sole recipient of the Prize if it is the winning submission. Entrants must include, on the coversheet of their entry, a statement indicating how they qualify. Entry is not limited to members of SCSMI. Previous winners may not enter again. Persons in doubt about their qualifications are encouraged to consult the editor of Projections in advance.
5.	Content and Length: The essay may be on any topic and situated in any discipline so long as it falls under the aims and scope of Projections. The essay should be a maximum of 8,000 words inclusive of references and notes. All identifying information should be removed for blind review. In addition, an abstract not exceeding 150 words should accompany the essay.
6.	Judging: An interdisciplinary panel of judges will be constituted by five individuals. These include the editor and two associate editors of Projections, along with two members of SCSMI’s Board of Directors. Decisions will be based on the overall merit of the submissions including, but not limited to factors including originality, rigour, innovativeness, and sophistication. The winning essay will be published in Projections, contingent upon meeting the normal criteria for publication including double bind peer review and final editorial approval.  It is a condition of entry to the Prize competition that the essay has not previously been published; is not currently under consideration by another journal or competition, and will not be until the result of the competition is announced. If, in the opinion of the judges, no essay that merits publication in Projections is submitted, the prize will not be awarded. The decision of the judges is final. 
7.	Presentation: The winner of the Prize will normally be announced at the start of the calendar year following the competition and presented later that year at the annual meeting of SCSMI, where the winner will have the opportunity to present the paper.

Submission Procedures
1.	In the years that the Prize is scheduled to be awarded, a call with a set deadline will be circulated within and beyond SCSMI towards the start of the calendar year. 
2.	Any essay submitted to Projections can be considered for the Prize if the author meets the eligibility requirements and self-nominates at the time of submission.
3.	Entries should follow Projections’ normal submission guidelines. They should be in English and should not exceed 8,000 words in length (including references and notes, excluding abstract). Entries that are too long or without an abstract will not be considered. Entries must be in Word document format, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12-point font. 
4.	Essays should be prepared for blind review and contain no identifying information. The file name should be the same as the essay title. The submission email should include the name, institution and address of the author. 
5.	Nominees should supply evidence that they are eligible for the prize – e.g. current student enrolment status or date of PhD conferral. 
6.	Essays will not be considered for the prize if they have been previously published, if they have been submitted to the Projections previously, or are currently under consideration by another journal or competition.
7.	Nominated essays may be published in Projections prior to the awarding of the Prize if they are accepted through the standard review process. If the winning essay is published prior to the awarding of the Prize, it will subsequently be made open-access and noted as the winning essay in the electronic version.

Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis between January 1, 2023 and December 1, 2023.

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