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This case study is based on critical and creative work on the short story carried out by Cox which has made a contribution to a nationwide revival of interest in a genre that has traditionally been overshadowed by the full-length novel.
The Edge Hill Prize, awarded by the University for a published short story collection, was established based on this research. The Prize has made a significant and distinctive contribution to an increased awareness and appreciation, amongst publishers, writers, readers and critics, of the specificity of short fiction as a genre in its own right; and hence increased production, promotion and consumption of the short story collection, providing opportunities for short story writers in the creative economy. In addition, Cox has influenced the teaching and practice of short story writing through a number of key texts that are used extensively.
Tessa Hadley's, novels and stories have reached a public audience, been listed for prizes, and led to prominent literary journalism, public debate, and appointments to prize-awarding panels. Hadley's work is an example of the cultural and economic impact of the Creative Writing research community at BSU, which includes novelists, poets, dramatists and non-fiction writers, who have reached public audiences, contributed to public literary culture through journalism, broadcasting and award-judging, and contributed to the economic viability of publishing and related industries. Hadley exemplifies the strategy of using the research base to enhance the quality of published creative writing and literary debate.
Research carried out at The University of Manchester by the award-winning author Maria (M.J.) Hyland has both illuminated and challenged cultural assumptions about Multiple Sclerosis. Hyland's autobiographical and self-reflective writings have impacted on the public sphere in two ways: 1) they have opened up an international debate in the mass media, literary magazines and among those suffering from the condition about its relation to the practice of writing; 2) they have been used to train future practitioners outside academia such as authors and editors, enhancing the public understanding of writing as a profession and contributing to the success of the editorial consultancy company Hyland & Byrne, which she established in 2011.
Research on the history of literary readership from the late 19th century to the present has proposed that all reading is necessarily `critical', and promoted the value of serious reflection on contemporary writing of many forms, from genre fiction to poetry, and on the historical formation of literary taste. Through work with the Durham Book Festival, school teachers and an exhibition gallery, the research has helped to inform and to engage their audiences, to bring reading communities together, and to encourage wider critical interpretation. It has influenced the strategic development of the Durham Book Festival, contributing to a marked increase in attendance.
This case study focuses on the impact of the research of one member of the UCL English Department, John Mullan. It describes the impact of his introduction of techniques of narrative analysis to the general reader and to secondary school teachers and students. This has involved making accessible to the general public an informed historical understanding of the development of English fiction, communicating techniques of critical reading that assist the appreciation of both canonical and contemporary novels. This has meant acting as a bridge between contemporary writers and readers, and communicating via print, radio and television the history of the genre. It has also meant delivering the benefits of a specialised critical vocabulary to teachers teaching fiction at secondary school level.
Gunn is a writer of fiction, with works published by commercial literary presses and substantial sales to a general readership. The research constitutes an experiment with artistic form, reworking modernist techniques and themes, such as bricolage, the imitation of musical form and the feminist revaluation of domestic experiences and objects. The underlying research question is: how can the technical resources and cultural preoccupations of modernist literary experiment be deployed to engage and inform a 21st-century reading public?
Gunn's research is communicated to the public through book sales, interviews, readings, and articles in the broadcast and print media, and through the Dundee Literary Festival. These activities enhance public understanding of the creative process for the wider community, providing cultural enrichment and economic benefit at the level of the local, national and international.
Bradford's exploration of the lives of modern British writers demonstrates how research can cross over into audiences beyond specialist academic markets. The impact of his research lies in:
Science fiction facilitates the exploration of pressing social, technological, cultural, ethical and philosophical issues, and our research engages with topics such as religious identity and what it means to be human, and also identifies and analyses changes in the way science, as a discourse and practice, has been defined and perceived. Our research, both critical and creative, has had impact through providing cultural enrichment to a range of individuals and groups, transferring the insights gained from this research to a wider audience. The dissemination of our research has challenged social assumptions, as well as created and interpreted cultural capital.
Dr Paul McDonald is an award-winning writer whose comic novels, short stories, and poetry have established him as a leading figure in the literature of the Black Country. His creative output is informed by scholarly research into humour and humour-writing that has national and international reach, and has contributed to the public knowledge of the history and cultural significance of humour. Specifically, he has:
Dr Neil McCaw's research has had a cultural, educational, and policy impact on individuals, groups of individuals, and organisations in the UK and countries overseas. His work on the development of The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, Lancelyn Green Bequest (the largest collection of Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes memorabilia in the world, of which he was appointed Academic Director in 2005) and detective and crime culture more widely has underpinned the following: a worldwide series of interlinked museum exhibitions visited to date by more than 350,000 citizens; a variety of connected educational projects involving school-age pupils of different nations; and regional public policy and heritage development work with a UK local authority that has informed tourism and cultural strategy. McCaw's research engages with communities, audiences and users far beyond academia through highly interactive media, written text, public exhibitions and televised airings of his expertise, all disseminated from its institutional, and regional, base in the UK to Germany, France, the USA, and Japan.