Academic writers – made, not born
13 October 2008
Getting published is a make-or-break part of every academic's career, but how does a lecturer learn to write?
A new book seeks to help researchers transform themselves to writers by presenting first-hand accounts of the paths to publication of 18 well-known education and social research authors.
"Passion and Politics: Academics reflect on writing for publication" by Eileen Carnell, Jacqui MacDonald, Bet McCallum and Mary Scott (all Institute of Education, London) explores themes including collaboration, the relationship of writing to other aspects of academic – and non-academic – life, the relationship between thinking and writing, how "good" writing is judged.
Endorsing the book, Professor Joan Mullin of Illinois State University said: "Students will delight in learning that scholars whose work they read undergo the same stress, anxiety and writing processes (including procrastination) that they do… Aspiring and present academics will find comfort in reading how well-known scholars, like them, have had to work at their writing and yet still take pleasure in it… Managerial staff will learn how they can set up support systems, communities of writers and a network that foster the very real conditions within which academics can productively succeed as researchers."
"Passion and Politics" is published by the Institute of Education and launched on 15 October 2008.
Notes for editors
Further information from Helen Green, press officer, +44 (0)20 7612 6459, h.green@ioe.ac.uk.
"Passion and Politics: Academics reflect on writing for publication" by Eileen Carnell, Jacqui MacDonald, Bet McCallum and Mary Scott (Institute of Education) is available from +44 (0)20 7612 6050, ioe@hammicks.co.uk, priced £19.99.
The 18 writers have held senior positions in the Institute of Education, although the time they have spent there varies widely (from 36 years to less than a year). Since the interviews were recorded, some have taken on new roles, including retirement. The writers have produced an extensive amount and range of work, including reports of empirical studies, journal articles, books, reviews, syntheses of literature, materials for teachers and students, press releases, reports for politicians and fiction. A small number have been involved in translating; the majority have edited the work of others and have participated in different forms of collaborative writing.
The writers are Stephen Ball, Ron Barnett, Jan Blommaert, Shirley Dex, David Gillborn, Lucy Green, Judy Ireson, Gunther Kress, Diana Leonard, Barbara MacGilchrist, Pam Meecham, Heidi Safia Mirza, Peter Moss, Ann Oakley, Michael Reiss, Jeni Riley, Chris Watkins and Geoff Whitty.
The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London, specialising in teaching, research and consultancy in education and related areas of social science and professional practice.