
The Journal of Imaginary Research publishes short works of fiction in the genre of the Research Abstract. The imagined research abstracts, and their imagined researchers were constructed by real academic staff, research staff, and research students. We produce a new Volume of the Journal of Imaginary Research each November, as November is Global Academic Writing Month.
In the early phases we used a workshop of imaginative writing practices (download the workshop materials here) to support writers to construct and refine fictional abstracts and biographies that are freed from the confines of day-to-day research projects. Each piece is rooted in a real image, carried into the workshop by a real researcher.
In developing this workshop we wanted to introduce creative writing concepts to researchers working in any and all disciplines, as a way to support people who felt tense, anxious, about writing, or had fallen into a negative relationship with their writing.

The pieces in these volumes were by-products of our workshop, helping researchers reflect on how they can creatively communicate their own research projects, and how they can find the joy of creativity within the grind of productivity. Creativity is a property of all writers and the privilege of all researchers.
We now accept submissions each November from any writer who sees the value of using creative processes, and writing for fun. Our next call will be announced on this blog site, when we are ready to receive new submissions.
Below, Kay presents a paper on the origin story and pedagogical underpinnings of the Journal at the Creative Experiment in the Classroom Conference, GCU London, June 2020.
Dr Kay Guccione (@kayguccione) Senior Lecturer in Academic Development, and Dr Matthew Cheeseman (@eine) Associate Professor in Creative Writing — Editors.