Proposals

Senses of Cinema is Australia’s leading international film journal. We publish serious criticism and scholarship written in a lively, accessible style. Our aim is to bridge the gap in film writing between the academy and the informed general reader.

Have an idea for an article?

Although Senses of Cinema is predominantly a commissioned-based journal, proposals for articles are welcome.

Proposals should not exceed 200 words and should succinctly state:

  1. A suggested title
  2. What your article will be about
  3. The argument or perspective you plan to take
  4. Why it will be of interest to the Senses readership
  5. Links to any previously published work you have written

Senses of Cinema honours the diversity of cinematic experiences and we encourage contributors to consider works from marginalised demographics (people of colour, the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities etc). As a courtesy, we request that you do not send your proposal to any other publication while it is being considered with us. Additionally, Senses of Cinema is a labour of love and we don’t have the funds to pay contributors. What we can offer is public engagement with your research. This is where scholarship meets cinephilia. We do not accept full articles at the proposal stage — due to the amount of proposals we receive, we ask kindly that you only submit finished pieces at our invitation.

Please note that by submitting a proposal for consideration for publication in Senses of Cinema you agree to the terms and conditions set out in our Writers’ Agreement. Senses of Cinema takes the issue of plagiarism very seriously. Any articles found to contain material copied from existing sources without attribution will be removed from the site.

Send your general proposals to: proposals@sensesofcinema.com.

As we publish quarterly and receive a high volume of submissions, it can take some time for the editorial team to assess proposals and respond to emails. Please allow up to six weeks before following up.

What happens if my proposal is accepted?

If we commission an article based on your proposal, we cannot guarantee publication until we see the finished article.

At the commissioning stage, we will negotiate a deadline and word count. Failure to adhere to these may result in a refusal to publish.

Feature articles should not exceed a maximum of 5,000 words.

Please ensure your article is written and formatted according to the Senses of Cinema style guide and supply any images you wish to accompany your work when you submit the finished article.

Once your finished article is submitted, it will be edited, and returned to you for final approval.

Senses of Cinema takes the issue of plagiarism very seriously. Any articles found to contain material copied from existing sources without attribution will be removed from the site.

Can I have my article refereed?

Although Senses of Cinema is not a fully refereed journal, we provide writers with the option of having their work peer reviewed by leading scholars. To qualify, your article’s research approach, subject and/or scholarly engagement should be innovative and clearly contribute new knowledge to a given sphere. Peer reviewed articles on Senses of Cinema are normally around 5 000 words. If you would like your work peer reviewed, please let us know when you submit your initial proposal.

Articles must be provisionally approved by the editors before they are peer reviewed. If we do not think your submitted work is suitable for Senses, we will let you know before the review process begins.

Refereed articles will be sent to two qualified academic reviewers with no author name attached. Reviewers will complete reports that will be returned to the author, with comments from the editor if required.

In the case of conflicting recommendations from the reviewers, the editors’ decision will be final.

Please allow at least four months for the refereeing process.

We do not peer review book reviews, festival reports, or CTEQ Annotations on Film.

Can I review a book for Senses of Cinema?

If you have an interest in reviewing a particular book for Senses of Cinema, please submit a proposal that succinctly states:

  1. what book you would like to review
  2. why it will be of interest to the Senses readership
  3. why you think you would be an appropriate reviewer

Your proposal should also include links to any previously published work.

To submit a book review proposal, please contact Abel Muñoz-Hénonin: abel@sensesofcinema.com.

Can I review a film festival for Senses of Cinema?

Senses of Cinema only covers a small number of festivals, and has a regular roster of reporters for these so we are not actively seeking new proposals at this time. However, if you have an interest in reviewing a particular film festival for Senses of Cinema, please submit a proposal that succinctly states:

  1. what festival you would like to review
  2. why it will be of interest to the Senses readership — please note that we only cover a small number of festivals, focusing on the big international festivals or those with distinctive curatorial angles
  3. why you think you would be an appropriate reviewer

Your proposal should also include links to any previously published work.

To submit a festival report proposal, please contact Tara Judah: tara@sensesofcinema.com.

Can I write a Cinémathèque annotation for Senses of Cinema?

We regularly send out a call for contributions to CTEQ Annotations on Film. If you would like to be added to this mailing list, please send an email to Alex at cteq@sensesofcinema.com.