WKU News

This Wednesday, the WKU English department kicked off the Spring 2022 Creative Writing Reading Series by hosting fiction author Holly Goddard Jones. The Creative Writing Reading Series is a group of events that hosts multiple authors each semester, according to creative writing professor Dr. Tom Hunley.

“We always try to get the best writers we can find,” Dr. Hunley said.

Originally from Russellville, Kentucky, Jones attended WKU her freshman year of college before transferring to the University of Kentucky. She later earned her MFA in creative writing from Ohio University. Since then, she has earned multiple awards for her writing, including the Kentucky Literary Award.

Jones read the first chapter of her novel that is currently untitled and a work in progress, which follows the story of a WKU sophomore.

“I’m having fun with the dynamics between these young people in college,” Jones said. “I’m still trying to kind of see how a writer plays through those scenarios.”

Jones shared her struggles with writing during a pandemic, and how she overcomes them.

“I wrote the pages that I have so far very quickly, which happened because I let myself rest for a while,” Jones said. “At other times, I’ve had to treat writing like exercise. It's something I don’t necessarily feel like doing, but I try to enjoy the work instead of just forcing myself to do it.”

The next event in the Creative Writing Reading Series will be Thursday, March 31 at 7 pm via Zoom.

To stay up to date on events within the Creative Writing Reading Series, visit the WKU Department of English Facebook pageor the calendar on the WKU Department of English homepage.