Writers & Scientists Say
Sir John Sulston
Nobel Laureate and former Director of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
'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.'
Philip Pullman
Prize-winning author; awards include the Carnegie Medal, Whitbread Book of the Year and Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
'I'm all for writers and scientists talking to one another. I've benefited a great deal from talking – 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!'
Baroness Susan Greenfield
Director, Royal Institution, and Professor of Pharmacology, University of Oxford
'Scientists are often portrayed, where they do feature in fiction, at best as dysfunctional nerds and at worst as evil-doers bent on world domination. In both cases, they are usually white, middle-aged males, most typically balding and sartorially challenged.
It would be marvellous if this image could be reversed. By giving scientists in literature a human face we will encourage young people to consider a career in science, as well as helping the general public feel more comfortable with the high-technology age in which we live.'
Professor Sir Harry Kroto
Nobel Laureate for Chemistry and Francis Eppes, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University
'This is a great initiative of the kind that science education desperately needs. At this time when the world needs numerous major fundamental scientific and technical advances to be made just to survive, it is vital to stoke the imaginations of writers - and, through them, readers - to understand the beauty and the massive impact of science on everyday life. It will only be by direct involvement of those who really understand science – scientists – in communicating with those who really need to understand it – everyone, especially politicians – as well as those who want to understand it – fiction-writers – that general appreciation of the massive socio-economic benefits of Science will be brought about and their future wise use ensured.'