Exeter Writes

Having launched Exeter Writes at the end of 22-23, our priority has been to embed this support across the Faculty and to broaden our offer to address other forms of writing. The significance of books in Humanities, Arts and Social Science disciplines is clear, but there are often significant barriers in place which prevent colleagues from fully realising their research goals across their careers.

Exeter Writes has placed book-writing at the heart of our research culture

Timetabled weekly virtual writing retreats alongside in-person writing retreats on the Streatham campus, with similar events organised by colleagues in Penryn.
Well-attended Project Monograph workshop which focused (through the stories of individual staff) on the themes of co-authoring, publishing trade and creative non-fiction, and writing your second monograph. A similar all-day workshop in Penryn brought a group of seasoned book writers from Streatham who were matched with all HASS disciplines represented in Cornwall.
Running, in conjunction with the library, a workshop on 'Unveiling Open Access Monograph Publishing.'
Running Journal Publishing sessions at in Streatham and Penryn, looking specifically at journal publishing and drawing upon the expertise of colleagues who have edited leading journals as well as writing pathbreaking essays.
A session on writing a book proposal with Robert Langham (Routledge), in an interactive setting specifically aimed at encouraging ECRs.

Following the successful development of a culture of writing retreats on campus and online, 31 colleagues have attended multi-day retreats at Dartington Hall. This opportunity was massively oversubscribed but gave us a chance to support colleagues writing their first books and those who came from underserved or minority communities.

In conjunction with colleagues in English and Drama, we also staged an event looking at the production of creative and non-traditional outputs in June.

Upcoming staff events, links and information

HASS Weekly Retreats 2024-25

These retreats are designed to provide space for colleagues to focus on writing. There is no need to book onto a particular session, though you may find it useful to block out time for research by accepting invitations for certain weeks. Both online and in-person retreats will introduce you to others writing books at present, though there is no formal organisation of sessions. The time is simply provided to aid creativity and productivity. Click here for more detail.

Buddy Scheme 2024-25

Over the past year we have been running a writing buddying scheme, which many of us have found really helpful. Our aim is to pair colleagues from across disciplines, research areas and career stages. If you would like to join the scheme and for us to find you a buddy, please complete this form.

Recording of Exeter Writes Activities

Exeter Writes has placed book-writing at the heart of our research culture. We have held many events and workshops over the past few years. Click here to watch the recordings.

For further details of these activities please email William Gallois or Rachel Dallyn

Upcoming Staff Events
- Exeter Writes Summer School - w/c 30 June and 7-11 July
- Monthly Creative Output Sessions - dates can be found via our staff intranet here

Useful Links

Quotes

Below are some quotes and feedback we have received from our Exeter Writes activities.

Overall comment

'The events and activities have been pivotal in enhancing research culture. Previously, there was a focus on the 'culture' itself, but little by way of actual support in order to foster that very culture. Providing space, time, and especially seed funding, has enabled the monograph to progress towards fruition. More than this, my book buddy and I have met on a weekly basis to support each other, discuss potential collaborations, and will hopefully apply for funding together to deliver a cross-disciplinary project; this was truly an unexpected but welcome outcome from this process. Thank you!'

Journal publishing event

'I am grateful for the support and the communities Exeter Writes initiative has provided along with a sustained space to facilitate my research and writing.'

Monograph Day - Penryn

'I have got a clear picture about monograph publication process...'

Online writing group and monograph day (Streatham)

'The online writing group was very beneficial, as was the monograph day workshop. I wish I could have attended some of the others too. There are small tips and a feeling of community that really help energize my work.'

Monograph Fixes Fund

'The fund helped secure the integrity and high quality of the publication. My co-editor based at the University of Texas at Austin thinks very highly of the level of support Exeter provides to its staff's research'

Buddy scheme

'I love the buddy scheme it has massively helped me keep a rhythm with my writing and I've gained a fab new colleague I'd never have met and I get to read their interesting work. We now do regular online writing slots together and it keeps us both motivated and accountable. Their feedback has also been really encouraging and really valuable as it comes from someone outside my discipline. The emotional support is also very valuable when you feel stuck or like you will never finish the book. '

Writing book proposals event

'Attending the book proposal event was enlightening and gave me new energy and hope for publication. Fantastic event, and speaker!'

Dartington writing retreats

'This gave me much needed and invaluable focused time to return to writing a monograph I had not been able to look at for a while. The incentive of going away for a week forced me to focus, and the environment was relaxing and friendly and very conducive to concentrated periods of writing. The spaces to work and relax are absolutely beautiful and food was nourishing. What a useful luxury! I think it will help everyone who participates in it not only with their writing but also their general health.'

'The retreat went beyond my expectations and I have benefitted tremendously from it. It created an environment conducive to creative work. I think the fact that it took place over a few (three) days, in a location away from the University / my normal place of work, was very important: I had been to daily writing retreats in the past, but I felt much more productive in this one. I think it took me perhaps half a day to get into a good/productive writing mode, but days 2 and 3 in particular were incredibly productive.'

'It was the most productive week I've had in years. Usually, I write alone and worked furiously on my own projects, writing 10k of a piece of narrative non-fiction, benefiting from being surrounded by colleagues from other departments. But by the end of the week, I'd also established networks and potential research bids and papers with a number of other colleagues. These were overlapping interests and backgrounds that I would have had no idea about had we not had the time to get to know each other. I'm meeting two others to do a joint paper involving elements of my PhD, as well as a joint research bid. Hugely beneficial. Thank you!'

'I wanted to take a moment to convey my deepest gratitude for organising the Dartington retreat. It truly exceeded my expectations, and I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity.

The retreat provided the perfect environment for focused work, and I am delighted to share that I was able to achieve a lot during my time there....

.....I am pleased to inform you that I made significant progress on a chapter I have been working on. Above all, it instilled the conviction that I can disconnect from less important commitments and dedicate my time to writing.

I must also say that the cohort was excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to interact and forge relationships with colleagues from other departments. Some of us are even exploring opportunities to continue collaborating in different capacities, which is very exciting.'

Facts and figures

2024/25

2024-25 Events	Date	Registrations/Attendees
Weekly retreats – Penryn - Timetabled weekly in-person writing retreats on the Penryn (Fridays) campus	Weekly	varied by week
Weekly retreats – Streatham - Timetabled weekly, in-person, writing retreats on the Streatham (Tuesdays) campus	Weekly	varied by week
Weekly retreats – Online - Timetabled weekly virtual writing retreats (Thursdays)	Weekly	varied by week
Buddy scheme - A writing buddying scheme, the aim is to pair colleagues from across disciplines, research areas and career stages where each party can really gain as a writer from their partner.	2024-25	11
Regular Creative space for non traditional outputs - These in person retreats are designed to provide space for colleagues to focus on creating and spend time together. The retreats introduced colleagues to others who are working on research which will also produce non-traditional outputs at present, though there is no formal organisation of sessions. The time was simply provided to aid creativity and productivity.	Monthly	Varied by month
Publishing your book in a series and pitching a new series to a publisher - Hybrid This session looked at the publishing of monographs as parts of lists or series. It looked at the practicalities of pitching a proposal to both the academic and publishing editors of a series, as well as exploring the ways in which new lists and series can be proposed to academic publishers and presses. Drawing on the experiences of both academic colleagues and industry professionals.	16/01/2025	11
Non traditional output assessment workshop - Hybrid - A discussion on non-traditional output quality (and) assessment, that could be tied in with the institutional output review, so colleagues could get some tips and insights ahead of the process. The speakers will briefly share their experiences of producing, submitting, reviewing non-traditional outputs and any lessons learned. This was followed by time to ask questions and have a group discussion.	28/01/2025	21
Revise and resubmit - It is far more likely that first submissions of articles will be returned to authors for revisions before finally being deemed to be publishable or not. This so-called process of "revise and resubmit" is an art which is not often discussed among peers, so the aim of this workshop was to provide colleagues with practical tips as to how to make the process work for them. We are fortunate that two Exeter scholars with a great deal of editorial and publishing experience offered to lead an interactive workshop which helped all participants gain a clearer understanding as to what editors and journals are really asking for when they invite you to resubmit your work.	07/03/2025	17
Narrating and evidencing impact arising from research which produces NTOs - Narration of impact arising from academic research is seldom straightforward, especially in humanities, arts, and social sciences, where work tends not to follow a linear movement from discovery to application modelled by some natural science disciplines. Narration of impact arising from research that was not underpinned by ‘traditional’ (i.e. written) outputs in the format of an impact case study is trickier still. This session looked at some examples of portraying the cyclical, iterative, and coincidental forms of research/impact in projects that had creative products as their key outputs and heard from colleagues about their experience of navigating this issue.	08/05/2025	7
Summer school - Week 1	30/6/24 - 4/7/25
Summer school - Week 2	7/7/24 - 11/7/24

2023/24

2023-24 Events	Date	Registrations/Attendees
Weekly retreats – Penryn - Timetabled weekly in-person writing retreats on the Penryn campus (Friday)	2023-24	varied by week
Weekly retreats – Streatham - Timetabled weekly, in-person, writing retreats on the Streatham campus (Tuesday)	2023-24	varied by week
Weekly retreats – Online - Timetabled weekly virtual writing retreats (Thursday)	2023-24	varied by week
Buddy scheme - A writing buddying scheme, the aim is to pair colleagues from across disciplines, research areas and career stages where each party can really gain as a writer from their partner.	2023-24	32
Monograph Fixes - Providing support to writers for additional costs which outputs may incur. These could include indexing, rights and permission, digital and design needs etc.	2023-24	34
Monograph Day – Streatham/Hybrid - A roster of speakers on a variety of topics relating to writing and publishing. Targeted at academic colleagues, particularly ECRs, and will provide networking opportunities and the possibility to forge communities of practice with other scholars.	05/01/2024	29
Monograph Day – Penryn - A day focused on book-writing. This featured a variety of speakers from across the as well as sessions focused on writing a book proposal.	23/2/2024	15
Journal Publishing event – Streatham - We looked specifically at journal publishing, drawing upon the expertise of two colleagues who have edited leading journals as well as writing pathbreaking essays.	25/03/2024	32
In-person writing retreat at Dartington – May - This opportunity was massively oversubscribed but gave us a chance to support colleagues writing their first books and those who came from underserved or minority communities	13-16 May 2024	9
Writing book proposals: a workshop with Rob Langham (Routledge): This event is specifically targeted at ECRs and those who have not had an opportunity to publish a book. Led by the publisher Robert Langham, was event in which all participants learnt how to develop their proposals in a supportive and critical setting.	23/05/2024	32
Journal Publishing event – Penryn - a roundtable in the morning where we will be joined online and in person by a range of senior colleagues who are Editors-in-Chief of major journals, followed by an interactive workshop in the afternoon where each attendee brought something related to a journal article that they are working on.	07/06/2024	10
Creating and assessing non-traditional outputs: An exploratory workshop - Streatham/Hybrid - This workshop had two goals: to explore the range of “non-traditional” outputs being created within HASS at Exeter. To share intelligence regarding the evaluation of such outputs across Units of Assessment. Looking at, among others, translations, performances, curation, software development and artistic practice, an ancillary aim of the event was to expose disciplines which have been largely wedded to journal articles, book chapters and monographs, the range of ways in which research can now be made manifest. We also looked in detail at cultures of assessment across academic disciplines, as well as hopefully forging a greater sense of congeniality for those who produce work in non-traditional ways.	19/06/2024	20
In-person writing retreat at Dartington – June - This opportunity was massively oversubscribed but gave us a chance to support colleagues writing their first books and those who came from underserved or minority communities	24-26 June 2024	14
In-person writing retreat at Dartington – July - This opportunity was massively oversubscribed but gave us a chance to support colleagues writing their first books and those who came from underserved or minority communities	1-5 July 2024	9
Unveiling Open Access Monograph Publishing – Streatham/Hybrid - An exploration of Open Access Monograph Publishing in a collaborative event hosted by the Faculty of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (as part of its Project Monograph initiative) and the Open Research team at the University of Exeter. For academics, researchers, or those simply curious about the world of Open Access monograph publishing, this event was a gateway to understanding the changing landscape of scholarly publishing.	15/11/2023