Manu Wicher
writer
Even as a child, Manu Wicher wanted to be a writer. She has been writing since she could write, but initially became a teacher. She pursues this profession for 30 years and then it's over. “Teaching was my second career choice, and I said, OK, I'll do it until I'm 50. But I quit when I was 49.”
People want to communicate
Stepping into self-employment is the right decision. In addition to her work as an author, she works as an editor and gives workshops for companies. It is important to her to finally have space for writing. “Working at a school takes up a lot of time and energy. I had started a manuscript back then and it's still lying around somewhere, there's just no time." But life as a writer is also tightly scheduled. Get up at 6:00 in the morning for an hour of Qigong and after breakfast work until 12:30. Then we go outside with the dog Paco,
and then work again until 6:30 p.m. “I am an early riser and totally disciplined,” says Manu Wicher, commenting on this work rhythm. This is how her first novel was born. In “Sixteen – Life is like that. Or in other words”, 16 stories of young people relax as part of a four-hour German test. Fictional stories that have a deep impact on the reality of their protagonists' lives through the experiences of the former guidance counselor. Manu Wicher draws on a fundamental observation: “People want to communicate and it is more anonymous in written form. You open up differently.” An insight that also shapes your own work? Her debut novel was published by Proofverlag in Erfurt. The next book that Manu Wicher is currently working on will also be published there.
Favorite place on the Gera
The city of Erfurt is the ideal place for those who grew up in Vippachedelhausen. A place to which she has remained loyal, even if the wide world beckons after her studies: “I actually wanted to leave after my studies. “I had a job at the university in Alma-Ata as a lecturer in literature and the German language, but then I got pregnant and decided to stay in Erfurt.” In terms of housing, it goes from the shared apartment on Nordhäuser Straße via the Andreasviertel to Gispersleben. Basically, Erfurt is a suitable city for a “running person” like Manu Wicher. Just right so you don't have to rely on trams or cars. This is how she also reaches her favorite places, which include the Petersberg and the Lange Brücke. However, she doesn't have to walk far to get to her most important favorite place. It is located in a small forest on the Gera, not far from her apartment in Gispersleben.
Here she finds peace, strength and new ideas for her next books. Manu Wicher's first book can be found there .