Journal of Chinese Cinemas is the only refereed academic publication in English devoted to the study of Chinese film. In Chinese cinemas as elsewhere, stars have always been central to film, to writing on film, to film culture, and to the development of celebrity culture. While stardom has received extensive attention in the West, there is no comparative in-depth study of stardom and Chinese-language film. This special issue aims to fill the gap. It is part of a book-length project, Stars of Chinese Cinema, edited by Mary Farquhar and Yingjin Zhang.

The editors of the journal special issue and of the book now invite abstract submissions of 250-300 words on any aspect of stars and Chinese Cinema. Each abstract should:

* include your name, address, and institution;

* focus on one particular star only from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and/or the Chinese diaspora (Chinese and English names if appropriate); and

* offer an innovative approach to the issue of stardom, widely discussed in the fields of cinema studies and cultural studies. Approaches may include, but are not limited to, issues of performance, industry, star construction, celebrity, gender, genre, studio context, media, biography, cultural and trans-border identities, memory, and exhibition/retrospectives. The editors have received earlier expressions of interest from major scholars of Chinese film to write on the following stars: Bai Yang, Jackie Chan, Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Ling Bo, Mei Lanfang, Ruan Lingyu, Anna May Wong, and Zhang Ziyi. Stars yet to be covered in the special issue and the subsequent book-length study include Chow Yun-fat, Ge You, Bruce Lee, Tony Leung, Gong Li, Jet Li, Li Xianglan, and Zhao Dan. Submissions on other major Chinese film stars are also welcome. The book will feature approximately 20 chapters on different stars.

Important dates:

* Deadline for abstract submissions: 31 July 2007
* Acceptance notice: 31 August 2007
* Deadline for paper (5000 words) submission: 31 January 2008
* Projected journal publication date: Autumn/Winter 2008

Abstract submissions (as word documents by email attachment) to both:

Mary Farquhar (Griffith University, Australia): m.farquhar@griffith.edu.au
Yingjin Zhang (University of California-San Diego, USA): yinzhang@ucsd.edu

Contact for journal information:

Song Hwee Lim (Chief Editor, Journal of Chinese Cinemas):
S.H.Lim@exeter.ac.uk

Website for paper format:

* See Notes for Contributors (PDF) at http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/

Note that invited paper submissions of 5000 words are shorter than the usual word-length for articles in Journal of Chinese Cinemas. This shorter word length is to allow for a more comprehensive coverage of major Chinese film stars.