Event Details

An afternoon of discussion and reflection celebrating two Routledge books on reinvention, professional identity, writing, and the future of work.

Radical Resilience is an afternoon event celebrating two book titles: Radical Retirement and Work Psychology and the Climate Crisis.

Radical Retirement: The Reinvention of Self After Work (Routledge, April 2026), a new edited volume exploring how professionals navigate identity, purpose, and leadership at moments of major transition.

Through personal narratives and reflective practice, the book challenges conventional ideas of retirement and reframes reinvention as a lifelong process.

The event brings together contributors to Radical Retirement alongside Routledge editor Rebecca Marsh for an afternoon of discussion, reflection, and engagement. A panel session will explore themes of reinvention, writing, and publishing, with opportunities for audience Q&A aimed at aspiring writers, prospective contributors to academic or business books, and those interested in the publishing process more broadly.

The programme will also include a seminar drawn from Christine Eastman’s The Power of Words, demonstrating how engagement with literature can support professional writing, publishing ambitions, and sense-making in times of change.

The afternoon will additionally mark the launch of Jan Maskell’s Work Psychology and the Climate Crisis: A Handbook of Principles and Practice, introduced as part of the wider programme.

Copies of both books, and promotional materials will be provided.

Programme

12.30–1.00 pm | Welcome, book introductions & refreshments

Introductions to the afternoon and the two featured books, followed by informal networking.

1.00- 1.45 pm | Taster Session: The Courage to Become: Mapping Identity Through Transition.

The event’s first session invites participants into becoming, not problem-solving and honours identity as plural, narrative, and evolving. Presenters will explore professional identity, our external versus internal selves, and the courage to stay with uncertainty. This will be an interactive and participative session.

1.45–2.30 pm | University–business collaboration in practice

A conversation exploring how universities and organisations can work together to cultivate imaginative, impactful learning and leadership beyond traditional career boundaries.

2.30–3.15 pm | Panel discussion & audience Q&A

A discussion on writing, publishing, reinvention, and collaborative authorship, aimed at aspiring writers and those curious about academic and professional publishing.

3.15–4.00 pm | Taster seminar: The Power of Words

An interactive session illustrating how literary traditions, including the Bildungsroman, can enrich writing, publishing, and leadership thinking, with examples from Herman Melville’s Redburn and Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

This event will be delivered fully in person. Sessions are designed to be attended flexibly, and guests are very welcome to arrive late, leave early, or attend only those parts of the programme most relevant to them.