Different Endings – New Meanings: How KazNU Publishing Students Reimagined the Finales of Their Favorite Books

On November 25, 2025, the Faculty of Journalism at KazNU hosted another meeting of the "ЖЗС" club, organized by the Department of Publishing. The event focused on alternative endings and how a changed finale can transform the entire perception of a literary work.

The session opened with a research-based presentation by third-year student Diana Amangeldiyeva, who spoke about types of literary endings and explained why the finale is not merely the last page, but a key semantic highlight of any work. Her talk was followed by Malika Salieva, who analyzed the phenomenon of open endings and demonstrated how they influence readers by giving them space for interpretation.

After the theoretical part, students presented their own versions of alternative endings to well-known books.
• Aminat Rakhmetova proposed a new finale for Yukio Mishima’s thriller Life for Sale.
• Malika Khalelova offered her interpretation of the ending of Genki Kawamura’s If Cats Disappeared from the World.
• Angelina Bayazitova shared how Stephen King’s Joyland could have concluded differently and highlighted how such creative experiments benefit publishers by revealing reader expectations, expanding marketing potential, and generating additional content.

A particularly memorable project came from Leila Abilmalik. She demonstrated how she reinterprets and visually redraws the ending of the Demon Slayer manga, creating her own artistic version of the finale.

The meeting concluded with an interactive game, “Guess the Ending,” led by Shakhizat Abdizhapar. Participants tried to identify the work based on a brief description of its finale, sparking lively reactions and enthusiastic discussions.

The session turned out dynamic, informative, and inspiring. Students reflected on the power of authorial intent, editorial and publishing decisions, and realized that reimagining an ending can dramatically shift the perception of a book and even its distribution. The "ЖЗС" club continues to enrich student life with creativity and meaning, promising more exciting topics and formats ahead.