Title: Writing as a social act: Groupings, spaces, audiences and purposes for disseminating research
Inaugural keynote conference by Rowena Murray from Glasgow University, PhD
May 27th, 2026, 10:30 – 12:00
Writing as a social act involves writing with and/or in the company of others. There are many models and formats, such as writer’s groups, writing retreats and writing meetings. Benefits can include decreased writing-related anxiety and increased productivity, writing self-efficacy and wellbeing during intensive periods of writing. This keynote offers examples of effective social writing that can be used to develop collaborative research writing for a range of audiences and purposes, such as a major project I worked on that sought to disseminate research on radiography in gynaecological cancers to patients and practitioners. That collaborative project, combining writing workshops, researchers’ discussion of audience and purpose and a writing retreat, demonstrates writing as a social act and offers a model for disseminating research to a range of audiences, for a range of appropriate purposes, in ways that speak to those diverse audiences, since the research aimed to have a positive impact on patients’ experiences and healthcare practices. Further examples illustrate that social writing is not just about writing with others; it is also about writing for others.
Rowena Murray graduated MA (Hons) from Glasgow University, PhD from the Pennsylvania State University and had an International Fellowship with the American Association of University Women. Her academic career included posts in the Centre for Academic Practice, as Associate Dean, Research; Professor in Education at the University of the West of Scotland; Head of Business Writing at Strathclyde Business School; and Principal Fellow of Advance Higher Education, with visiting posts in Australia, Ireland, Japan and South Africa. Her research on academic writing was funded by the British Academy, Carnegie Trust, Nuffield Foundation and Strathclyde University. She is currently an independent scholar and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Leeds University. She runs writing retreats, groups and courses for academics, researchers, PhD students and others through her company, Anchorage Educational Services: professorrowenamurray.com.