Dr Joseph Reed

Dr Joseph Reed
University Teaching Associate - Creative Writing

Biography

I am a Teaching Associate in Creative Writing and since 2023 have served as Co-Director of the MSt in Creative Writing. 

My main interest as a writer and academic is fiction. I have published three novels and a number of short stories and essays. My work may be primarily classified as literary fiction, though my most recent novel is a piece of speculative fiction (or sci-fi). 

As Co-Director of the MSt in Creative Writing my duties include organising modules and classes for that course, teaching sessions and workshops, supervising students, and conducting open days and interviews. 

I was awarded a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester in 2021 and an MFA in Creative Writing from Syracuse University in 2015. I have taught at both of those institutions. I hold a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education from the University of Cambridge. 

Research topics

My most recent novel, Terrestrial History, was speculative fiction, concerned with the climate crisis and colonisation of Mars. Prior to that, I have written fiction set in the art world (Hammer) and a sports novel (We Begin Our Ascent). In the course of my PhD, I wrote critically about Don DeLillo and the depiction of finance in three of his later novels. Since joining the University of Cambridge and PACE, I have taught classes and courses on writing dialogue, revising fiction, the short story, texture and detail in fiction, writing scenes, and time in fiction.

Publications

Books

  • Terrestrial History: a Novel. Norton, 2025
  • Hammer: a Novel. Simon & Schuster, 2022

Magazine articles

  • "Islanders" in Esquire, 2022

Reviews

  • ‘The Challenges of Placing Real Art in Fictional Stories’ LitHub.com (online), 2022
  • ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ in Afar, 2020