The topic of mental imagery has reached a stage of considerable maturity with a large published literature and a wide range of experimental paradigms now available. In recent years there has been a growing interest in uses for imagery in mental discovery and in the link between imagery and visuo-spatial working memory. Mental discovery offers insights into creative thinking, while the study of mental imagery in working memory offers a scientific understanding of important aspects of on-line cognition both in the laboratory and in everyday life. These cognate topics have been the subject of numerous scientific meetings, and there is now a well established network of imagery researchers across Europe. The idea for this special issue arose from a meeting of European imagery researchers that took place in Oslo, Norway in the summer of 1997. The topics for the special issue were chosen to reflect predominant themes represented at the meeting, but submission of papers was open to all readers of the European Journal of Cognitive Psychology whether or not they attended the conference. All the papers were subject to the normal strict reviewing process for the journal. The result is a sample of the exciting developments that are benefiting from significant growth in European based cognitive psychology.