We are excited to announce Phillip as the upcoming Picador Guest Professor at the University of Leipzig in summer term 2025. He will teach a workshop on writing poetry about loss and grief as well as a literary seminar on surrealism, magical realism and floclore in US literature.
Join us for an intimate “Talk with the Artist” featuring our current Picador Guest Professor, the acclaimed U.S. author Phillip B. Williams. This exclusive conversation provides a unique opportunity to delve into the mind of Williams as he shares the inspirations and insights that influence his powerful writing. Hosted by Senthuran Varatharajah, this event promises a deep and engaging experience you don’t want to miss.
Writing can be an act of care – care for the words we choose, the histories they carry, and the people they touch. Phillip B. Williams connects ancestry and freedom in his work, while building new paths on old grounds.
When: June 17 – 7 PM
Where: Garden of Literaturhaus Leipzig
Don’t miss this summer evening at Wannsee with the current Picador Guest Professor: acclaimed U.S. author Phillip B. Williams. Under the open sky, engage in a thought-provoking conversation about »OURS«, Phillip’s debut novel. Natasha A. Kelly will host the evening, guiding the discussion through time, history, and the art of building a new world. This event is part of ›Paradigmenwechsel‹, her series that delves into tipping points in both the past and present, exploring the opportunities that emerge from adopting new ways of thinking.
The conversation will explore the delicate balance between protection and reinvention—how one can honor the history of their ancestors while reshaping their narratives to reveal their true resilience.
When: July 8 – 7:30 PM
Where: LCB
The vibrant arts community in Leipzig, and my wondrous students, and brilliant colleagues, were an endless source of energy and inspiration to me while I served as the Picador Guest Professor. It was deeply meaningful to get to work alongside some of Germany’s foremost American literature scholars in a place with such immense publishing, music, and design history.
Rita Bullwinkel about the Picador Guestprofessorship
Guest Professor of Summer 2024
I was a Picador Guest Professor in Literature in Leipzig (2010/2011). The position was very fulfilling and my creative writing students were dynamic, imaginative, and full of heart. Leipzig is wondrous.
Nathalie Handal in an interview with thebartleby.com
Nathalie Handal is an award-winning poet, playwright, and writer. She has lived in Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Arab world. In the winter semester 2010/11, Handal held the Picador Professorship at the University of Leipzig.
In 2006, Leipzig University, in co-operation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and Holtzbrinck Berlin, initiated the Picador Guest Professorship for Literature at the University of Leipzig aiming at conveying and critically reflecting on Anglo-American Literature. Public events are also offered in addition to the authors’ teaching activities as Picador Guest Professors. This takes place in collaboration with the creative arts and culture community of Leipzig.
Many of the questions we discussed were ones we had never thought about before for example the question of what our own “fundamental truth” is.
Thea, Student
