The Society for Cinema and Media Studies Award for Student Writing recognizes graduate students who show outstanding ability in the field of film, television, and media scholarship in keeping with the disciplinary concerns and traditions of moving image and sound studies. Cash awards of $500, $300, and $200 are made to the winners, and the essay receiving first place is published (subject to revision) in Cinema Journal. 

Submissions are evaluated by the Student Writing Award Committee.  The awards will be presented at the annual SCMS conference. Each entrant must be an enrolled student in a graduate program in film, television or media studies or a related field, and must be a current member of SCMS at the time of submission of the essay. Essays prepared by students to fulfill course requirements may be submitted, as may work produced as part of a dissertation or thesis.  An essay will not be accepted, however, if it has been previously published or accepted for publication in whole or in significant part. Each student may enter only one essay.  Essays must be must be between 10,000 and 12,500 words in length, including notes and bibliography.

Procedures

• Applicants must be full member (not a temporary member) of the Society for the 2013-2014 membership year to apply for this award and enrolled in a recognized program of graduate study at the time of submission for the award.
  
  
• A completed nomination form containing the author’s name, e-mail address, title of the essay, and identification of graduate program attended.
  
  
• The essay should be saved in PDF format and uploaded on the submission form on or before August 1, 2013 (5pm CST). NOTE: To maintain the anonymity of the entrant, the author's name should not appear on or in the essay. 
  
  
• The SCMS office will verify the eligibility of the entry and verify membership before distributing copies to the committee members.
  
  
• Failure to follow procedures will result in disqualification.