Call for papers: Fallen Stars
| Type of post: | Association news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Hilary Halba |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Tue, 10 Mar 2026 |
Prof Paul Fryer is in discussion with a UK academic publisher about the creation of a new edited collection of essays under the working title, Fallen Stars.
The book will explore the lives and careers of "forgotten" figures from the early years of the motion picture industry (pre-sound). Performers who may have had an impact over a shorter period of time, but whose careers collapsed and disappeared, and who are now perhaps completely over-looked, or merely remembered as brief footnotes in film history.
The book will concentrate on lesser-known performers, rather than those who may have had more spectacular falls from grace, through scandals or misdemeanors (many of those stories have already frequently been told).
The book will certainly cover aspects of film history, and the nature of stardom as a central feature of that history; but it will also examine the role of "celebrity" and "celebrity culture" in terms of it's meaning in the entertainment industry of 100 years or more ago (and, retrospectively how that is viewed today). Stardom and celebrity can outlast a lifetime, but it can equally be brief and painfully transient.
Proposals are welcome for inclusion in this collection:
1. proposals should focus upon a single, specific performer of any nationality, whose career should have begun, or have mainly taken place during the pre-sound era.
2. proposals should consist of a short abstract (300 - 500 words), and a brief biography.
3. final essays should be of approximately 10,000 to 12,000 words, and may include a limited number of illustrations.
4. if selected, the text of the essay should not have been previously published in any format.
5. proposals should be emailed to Paul Fryer: paul@paulfryer.me.uk to arrive by 31st March.
If you would like to discuss a potential submission, or would like further information, then please contact Prof Paul Fryer at the address above.
The book will explore the lives and careers of "forgotten" figures from the early years of the motion picture industry (pre-sound). Performers who may have had an impact over a shorter period of time, but whose careers collapsed and disappeared, and who are now perhaps completely over-looked, or merely remembered as brief footnotes in film history.
The book will concentrate on lesser-known performers, rather than those who may have had more spectacular falls from grace, through scandals or misdemeanors (many of those stories have already frequently been told).
The book will certainly cover aspects of film history, and the nature of stardom as a central feature of that history; but it will also examine the role of "celebrity" and "celebrity culture" in terms of it's meaning in the entertainment industry of 100 years or more ago (and, retrospectively how that is viewed today). Stardom and celebrity can outlast a lifetime, but it can equally be brief and painfully transient.
Proposals are welcome for inclusion in this collection:
1. proposals should focus upon a single, specific performer of any nationality, whose career should have begun, or have mainly taken place during the pre-sound era.
2. proposals should consist of a short abstract (300 - 500 words), and a brief biography.
3. final essays should be of approximately 10,000 to 12,000 words, and may include a limited number of illustrations.
4. if selected, the text of the essay should not have been previously published in any format.
5. proposals should be emailed to Paul Fryer: paul@paulfryer.me.uk to arrive by 31st March.
If you would like to discuss a potential submission, or would like further information, then please contact Prof Paul Fryer at the address above.
