  Public scientists (scientists only from now onwards), understood as a member
of the teaching and/or research staff of a public university or a public
research organization (including humanities and social sciences), benefit the
academic community, industry and other social collectives through teaching and
research. Active involvement of scientists in culture is part of the richness
of developed societies. Some voices in current debates on the evaluation of
societal impact and the role of universities towards social development are
claiming a refocus from a socioeconomic perspective to also including
sociocultural benefits from academiaIn this paper we will focus in one facet of
cultural engagement; writing literary fiction. We will narrow our general
objective to local activities, due to the interest in the engagement of
scientist on this geographic dimension. Do local publishers include the
literary work of scientists? Are works written by scientists more likely to be
local than works not written by scientists?
