Genomics and fiction writing may seem an unusual cross-curricular marriage - but one successfully launched at the Edinburgh International Book Festival last week.

GM Fiction is a collection of the winning and shortlisted entries from the UK’s only (to date) genomics short story competition. The competition was run by Pippa Goldschmidt, a writer in residence at the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) Genomics Policy and Research Forum, based at Edinburgh University.

With science teachers not only being encouraged to address the ethical dimensions of science but also to teach literacy through their own subject, the short stories could be the perfect vehicle to spark debate among older students.

Established in 2004 as part of the ESRC Genomics Network (EGN), the forum acts to integrate the diverse strands of social science research within and beyond the EGN; to develop links between social scientists and scientists working across the entire range of genomic science and technology; and to connect research in this area to policy-makers, business, the media and the public in the UK and abroad.

www.genomicsnetwork.ac.ukforum.