Project Leader: Mason Pember, Department of Mathematical Sciences

The project will use fictional narratives to promote key mathematics concepts. Using fictional narratives is a well demonstrated approach of communicating ideas, being utilised in disciplines such as sociology and anthropology.

The main output of the project will be a novella, designed to help develop understanding of the unit Group Theory. Told from multiple student perspectives, it will promote inclusivity whilst also highlighting current welfare issues. Kara Gnodde, author of "The Theory of (Not Quite) Everything", will oversee the writing aspects of the project.

The output will be printed and made available as an open access digital publication. Student involvement will include asking past and present students for their feedback. The current cohort will be encouraged to develop their own stories, supported by a workshop run by the project.

A project update was given at Edufest 2025, during the afternoon session. The copy of the presentation can be found on the teaching hub.

In the first few months of the project, Mason reached out to well-known maths communicators such as Rob Eastaway, to raise awareness of the project.

A project launch event was organised in October 2024 to generate interest in the project within the university. Kara Gnodde, Gayle Letherby and Sarah Hart were invited to give talks about the intersection of maths and literature.

In November 2024, a “2-day Creative Writing in Mathematics” workshop was held for students. Kara Gnodde, Gayle Letherby and I ran workshops that encouraged student participation.

Gayle Letherby, Keerat Singh and I are currently writing the novel and are approximately halfway through the writing. Keerat is a former student of Group Theory. We aim to have finished the book by the end of 2025. Due to curriculum transformation, this now fits with Group Theory being taught in the second semester. Through reaching out to Rob Eastaway, I became a member of the “Connecting English and Maths” initiative, led by Rob Eastaway, Becky Fisher and Sarah Hart.

A project launch event was held in October 2024 to generate interest in the project. Kara Gnodde, Gayle Letherby and Sarah Hart gave talks about the intersection of maths and literature. A mixture of staff and students attended the event and provoked some interesting discussions.

In November 2024, a “2-day Creative Writing in Mathematics” workshop was held for students. Kara Gnodde, Gayle Letherby and I ran workshops that encouraged student participation. 17 students from across the university attended and we received positive feedback from the students through a follow on survey.