This article discusses the contributions to this special edition where authors explore the dialogic spaces opened when writing instruction and professional learning facilitate opportunities for 'meta-talk,' talk about writing as a mechanism for deepening thinking about writing. Given the prevalent theme of the notion of dialogic space, particular note is given in our discussion to each article's description, both theoretically and empirically, of this construct. We consider the articles in terms of their commonalities and differences and evaluate their collective contribution which we see broadly in terms of illustrating methods and analyses that allow researchers to explore pedagogy and the nature of talk that potentially opens up dialogic spaces. We offer some thoughts of our own regarding dialogic space. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.