Organised by the British Dental Editors Forum (BDEF), the first New Writer's Workshop took place on 8 September 2015 at the British Dental Association. Clinicians from around the UK attended the event, and we asked attendee and award winner Nikki Patel to give us her insight on what went on throughout the day.

Stephen Hancocks with Nikki Patel (left) and Reena Wadia (right), winners at the Young Dental Communicator of the Year Awards.

The BDEF's primary aims are to ensure high quality and ethical dental publications and to enhance communication within dentistry. Past BDEF President Professor Nairn Wilson has described the Forum's aims and aspirations as 'providing support for dental editors and encouraging quality and confidence in dental publications'.

The workshop provided a platform to build new connections and enabled delegates to gain a better insight into the opportunities available in the less renowned world of dental publishing.

The day commenced with a presentation from Stephen Hancocks OBE (Editor-in-Chief BDJ) and Ruth Doherty (Managing Editor BDJ), on how to get papers published, with Professor Kenneth Eaton, BDEF Chair, lending us his considerable knowledge on what editors look for in papers and the peer review process. In the afternoon, we were given the opportunity to sharpen our skills on critically appraising research, creating effective social media posts and campaigns before finishing up with a talk from Professor Wilson on the pitfalls of plagarism.

I felt the enthusiasm and passion of the speakers for publishing really shone through during the course of the day, which seemed to transfer to all attendees, leaving me feeling greatly inspired.

Attending this day has given me the encouragement and confidence to continue writing and it has helped me to gain the knowledge to continue my path towards writing articles of a high quality. Additionally, it has given me the opportunity to broaden my horizons in my career and lead it in a direction less well travelled in dentistry.

This first workshop of its kind proved to be a great success and subsequently it has been planned to make this an annual event.

Later in the evening, the foyer of the BDA was transformed into a reception with canapés and drinks, ready for the presentations of the BDEF/BDIA Young Dental Communicator of the Year Awards 2015. The Award acknowledges the accomplishments and future potential of young dental writers and communicators.

I feel truly honoured that my article on community dentistry, which appeared in the BDJ, was selected for the first prize. I am passionate about the area of dentistry I work within and for my article to be recognised for its merits is an accomplishment for the whole field of community dentistry.

If you are interested in writing I would encourage you to do so. All writers under the age of 35 living in the UK at the time their communication was published can be nominated. Look out for the workshop next year and beyond. It really does give you fantastic insight into a very competitive field.