Crossword Genius

A universal god’s joint contribution to literature (10)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

authorship

'contribution to literature' is the definition.

'a universal god's joint' is the wordplay.
'a universal god's' becomes 'authors' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'joint' becomes 'hip' (hip is a kind of joint).
'authors'+'hip'='AUTHORSHIP'

(Another definition for authorship that I've seen is " Writing".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app