By Emma Be
st, 4th semester B.Sc. student in economics
On June 27, 2019, author Josh Weil visited the JGU as part of the Q+Reads reading series. Josh Weil, who is currently the Picador visiting professor of literature at the University of Leipzig, read from his collection of short stories entitled “The Age of Perpetual Light.” He then took questions from the audience, discussing the recurring themes that appear in his stories and his working style as a writer. The next day, he led a creative writing workshop for Q+ students.
I am an avid reader but I do not write, and this is why I found it so interesting to get concrete methods for writing stories or even entire books directly from an author who also teaches literature. During the workshop, we did several exercises, including crafting a plot and brainstorming. This gave us a sense of how the writing process unfolds – from the first idea to the finished book.