Prisoner and Wentworth Edited Book: Chapter Proposals due 21 May 2018

We invite proposals for chapters for an edited collection called Wentworth is the New Prisoner (working title), which is developing in the wake of a successful conference of the same name held in Melbourne in April 2018. We already have interest from publishers.

Wentworth (aka Wentworth Prison) is an award-winning Australian prison drama series now in its fifth season and recently renewed for a sixth season. It screens in Australia on Foxtel, in the UK on Channel 5 and in the USA on Netflix. The series was inspired by Prisoner (aka Cell Block H), a groundbreaking drama produced between 1979 and 1986, which was internationally successful and led to a cult following. Set in a women’s prison in contemporary Melbourne, Wentworth dramatises current cultural and political issues, and provides a rich example of creative and industrial screen practice that can often be read in the context of its predecessor, Prisoner.

We invite proposals for chapters from academics, practitioners or those who are both, including research degree candidates and early career researchers. The audience for the book is educated readers interested in contemporary television, including but not limited to Television Studies specialists.

All topics related to Wentworth, Prisoner Cell Block H and prison television will be considered, but we are especially looking forward to receiving proposals on the following topics:

●      Race and ethnicity and Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Indigeneity and Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Diversity behind bars and on screen

●      Transsexual characters in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Class in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Disability in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Violence in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Substance abuse in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Mental health and mental illness in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Connections between Wentworth/Prisoner and other prison television, such as Orange is the New Black

●      Music and lyrics in Wentworth/Prisoner
●      Sound in Wentworth/Prisoner

●      Fandom and cultural experiences inspired by Wentworth/Prisoner (such as the UK cabaret shows and the LA bikie vigil for Frankie Doyle)

Editors:

Associate Professor Craig Batty (RMIT University); Dr Tessa Dwyer (Monash University); Dr Radha O’Meara (University of Melbourne); Dr Stayci Taylor (RMIT University).

Please email your chapter proposal (up to 500 words), along with a 100-word biography, to [log in to unmask] by Monday 21 May 2018.

If your proposal is accepted, an chapter of about 5000-6000 words (including citations) will be due for review by 1 November 2017.