Call for Book Chapters:

Between Screens: Video Games, Film, Television and Transmedia Exchange
https://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/cfp/2026/06/25/between-screens-video-games-film-television-and-transmedia-exchange

Edited by Dr Michael Samuel and Dr Richard Cole

Deadline for submission of abstracts and bio statements: August 7, 2026

Adaptation is a dialogic process, a creative exchange across content production and context rather than an attempt at fidelity. Recent trends in adaptation studies reflect this complexity. Videogames exist within a vast ecosystem of transmedia storytelling and experiences, yet scholarship on adaptation and video games remains limited.

This collection is a response to this gap. Our aim with Between Screens is to reframe the conversation about the relationship between videogames and other screen media, inviting approaches that emphasise the adaptive process and illuminate the formal, narratological, technological, industrial and cultural dimensions of transmedia adaptation. How do stories and characters, mechanics, aesthetics and meanings transform as they move between videogames and other media? How do adaptive practices acknowledge or resist these differences? What role do intellectual property, industrial consolidation and transmedia marketing play in shaping adaptive choices and audience experiences? What theoretical frameworks can help us move further beyond fidelity criticism? How can we better understand adaptation as a two-way process that reveals broader truths about media convergence, storytelling possibilities, and the evolving nature of entertainment industries? These are just a flavour of the questions this collection will address.

At this stage, we are prioritising submissions that address the following topics:

1. Histories of game adaptation — How have adaptation practices evolved from early arcade games and home console ports to contemporary transmedia franchises that start or end with games?
2. Narrative and mechanical translation — How do narrative structures, game mechanics, and interactive elements translate (or resist translation) across media?
3. Aesthetic and stylistic adaptation — What is the relationship between visual design, sound design, cinematic language, and ludic form?
4. Industrial and economic factors — How have studios, licensing agreements, and IP ownership shaped adaptive decisions?
5. Gender, representation, and adaptation — How does adaptation shape or reshape character representation, narrative arcs, and thematic content?
6. Transmedia franchises and worldbuilding — The role of adaptation in constructing interoperable fictional worlds across multiple platforms
7. Audiences and reception — How do fans, critics, and players interpret and engage with adapted works across media?

Please email a chapter abstract (300-500 words) and a brief author biography (100 words maximum) to Dr Michael Samuel (mike.samuel@bristol.ac.uk) and Dr Richard Cole (Richard.Cole@bristol.ac.uk) by 7 August 2026. In your email, please indicate which topic/question from above that your proposed chapter will address. The book proposal is currently under consideration by Palgrave. We therefore anticipate that final chapters will be between 6,500 and 8000 words (including notes and references). All submissions must be original, previously unpublished work. Please use Harvard in-text referencing formatting for citations. Please include the subject line ‘Between Screens’ with your email.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us (email both of us).

Editor Bios:

Dr Michael Samuel is Senior Lecturer in Digital Film and TV Studies and co-director of the Bristol Digital Game Lab at the University of Bristol.

Dr Richard Cole is Senior Lecturer in Digital Futures and co-director of the Bristol Digital Game Lab at the University of Bristol.