Debra Myhill is Professor of Education at the University of Exeter, UK, and Director of the Centre for Research in Writing, which promotes inter-disciplinary research, drawing on psychological, socio-cultural and linguistic perspectives on writing. Her research interests focus principally on writing and the teaching of writing, particularly linguistic and metalinguistic development, the composing processes involved in writing, the talk-writing relationship, and creative writing. Underpinning this research is the principle that literacy, especially writing, is a pathway to empowerment. Over the past fifteen years, she has led a series of research projects in these areas, in both primary and secondary schools.