Introduction to academic journal writing

Several years ago, I secured a research grant designed for early career academics to do a project about unlicensed medicines (don't worry - they won't be mentioned again!) Because it was a personal award, I put in funding for lots of research training and it was also my first time acting as a chief (or principal) investigator. I learned a lot during the course of that project and in the years that followed from preparing the academic outputs.

To share what I had learned for the benefit of other early career researchers, I started a blog. In it, I shared all the things I wish I'd known before starting out on some of the important components of embarking on a career in research. These included reviews of the training I had accessed, the process of preparing a research grant, and... getting published in the academic literature.

The blog still holds up, but I've learned even more since completing my PhD and my series of other random projects across a range of subjects and disciplines. And Nicky is even more widely published and experienced than I am! So, we decided to put our heads together to create a new offering for Coastal Writing - an introduction to academic journal writing. We ran a pilot event in 2022, and a short-form version for a conference this year. We also have completed some academic aritificial intelligence apps training from Mushtaq Bilal and have thought about how some of these tools can be incorporated into our sessions.

Part of the motivation to do this was feedback from participants at our retreats and webinars, and the many conversations we've had with colleagues and organisations in the course of setting up Coastal Writing. We're hoping this workshop will be helpful for early career researchers and PhD students to help them plan an article for the peer-reviewed literature. It will also be helpful for people like me (healthcare professionals) who often parachute into academia based on our professional rather than academic experience, leaving us feeling a bit apprehensive about dipping our toes into the academic journal publishing world - especially without a PhD.

We're starting with a 2.5 hour online interactive webinar for those who might be interested in learning more about academic journal writing. Or if you would like to explore running this type of session for your own organisation, you can complete our enquiry form.