Dr Josje Weusten (J.L.)

I hold a PhD in literary studies and am a senior lecturer of literature, poetry, and creative writing. I am deeply passionate about fiction. 

I love to teach creative writing and cultural and literary theory, which I have been doing for nearly two decades at Maastricht University. I believe that honing one's creative writing skills leads to a deeper understanding and enjoyment of literature, and vice versa. In my courses and workshops, I thus combine hands-on creative practices with theoretical insights. 

I am the recipient of one of the FASoS Education Prizes awarded in 2022. 

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In addition to being an academic, I am a fiction author and as such, an alumna of Faber Academy ​London. I write speculative and contemporary (auto)fiction and poetry. 

My first novel Fake Fish  was published by the Independent Literary Publisher Sparsile Books (Glasgow, UK) in fall 2024. The novel was a Scotland's Book Week Debut Showcase.

My short stories have among others appeared in Burningword Literary Journal (LA), Litbreak ​Magazine (NY),  Flash Fiction Magazine (NY), and Low Hanging Fruit (California). One of my short stories ​has been nominated for Best Small Fictions (2024 edition) awarded by ​Altcurrent Press in the category micro-fiction. 

I am also a regular essayist for The Independent Publishing Magazine and the founder and editor of Telling Stories Magazine. 

Currently, I am working on my next novel and a composition collection of short stories.

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For more information about my creative work as a writer, please visit https://josjeweusten.co.uk/