To facilitate these contacts, a database and website have been set up by former scientist Ann Lackie (aka novelist Ann Lingard: see www.plumblandconsulting.co.uk) and physicist and information scientist Peter Normington, with NESTA support.
If you employ a scientist or engineer (or are one yourself!) who is intrigued by the idea of talking to a writer about what you do, how you do it, and what drives you on -- then please consider registering with SciTalk, and letting writers know what you have to offer. You should be prepared to meet, and to show the writer where you work, so that he or she can experience the images, sounds (and smells) and learn the jargon, that are so important in lending credibility and a ‘sense of place’ to fiction.
SciTalk is all about enthusiasm and communication – and the fun and challenge of questioning others, and explaining what you do. Writers and scientists can both suffer from stereotypical images. If SciTalk helps fiction-writers to enjoy using science/engineering and to include scientists/engineers as believable characters – and helps scientists/engineers learn how writers work and what they mean by ‘research’ - then the project will have achieved success.
Read a report from the Times Higher about a meeting between a novelist and a scientist – go to www.scitalk.org.uk
“I'm all for writers and scientists talking to one another. I've benefited a great deal from talking to - actually, much more from listening to - experts in various fields, and anything that helps put us all in touch with one another is excellent. Congratulations on coming up with such a good idea, and all power to it!” Philip Pullman, novelist
“This is a great initiative. It will allow writers to get to know scientists as real human beings, and so portray scientific work in a fresh and vivid way. Just as importantly, it will give scientists an insight into both the curiosity and the concerns of non-scientists about work in the laboratory. It will be particularly valuable if it can open doors to scientists who are normally hidden from view.” Sir John Sulston, Nobel Laureate, FRS, and former Director of the Sanger Centre
Added 19 April 2006