Fact, faction and fiction: exploring fictional composition as a tool for knowledge production in leisure research

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this research note, inspired by the SI in ALR ‘finding truth in fiction’ [Justin Harmon and Rudy Dunlap. 2021. “Leisure Seen Differently: Conclusion to the Special Issue on ‘Finding Truth in Fiction’.” Annals of Leisure Research, Finding Truth in Fiction 24: 646-651], we explore the potential of fiction as a tool for research and pedagogy in leisure studies. Our analytical focus is Terra Ludus [Bruce 2016a. Terra Ludus: A Novel About Media, Gender and Sport. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers], a dystopian novel set in an imagined (near) future world that has women’s sport as the backdrop. Based on our own readings of Terra Ludus, and an interview with the author (July 2020) about her aims in the production of this work, we explore fiction’s potential role in leisure studies research overall and the possibilities of the creative non-fiction genre specifically.