Join us to celebrate the publication of Bonfire by Iona Hepburn, who will be in conversation with another local writer Cathy Hayward. Together, they will be exploring the overlap between ancient rituals and modern violence through the crime genre.

Bonfire

Fire, folklore and sanctioned chaos – DCI Holly Hennessy just wants to survive her first Lewes Bonfire when a flaming barrel tears through the crowd and smashes open to reveal the charred body of a teenage girl.

As Holly takes control of the investigation, the trail leads her straight into the path of Kyra Ford, a local academic and documentary presenter, who Holly hasn’t seen since their friendship imploded at school fifteen years earlier. Kyra isn’t just a witness to the crime – she’s also a reminder of a betrayal Holly has spent her entire adult life trying to forget. As the two women circle each other against a backdrop of festering hatreds and hidden abuses of power, Holly must confront both her past and a killer who may be planning to strike again.

Iona Hepburn is an ICU doctor who has worked in Lewes, taught at Sussex University, and now lives in Brighton with her wife and daughter. She likens her medical career to that of police detectives in their shared sense of humanity and overfamiliarity with death. Bonfire is her debut novel.

Cathy Hayward is a writer and bookseller and also manages a creative writing school.

She trained as a journalist and edited a variety of trade publications, In 2022, after having spent a lifetime pottering around bookshops, she bought Kemptown Bookshop in Brighton and has worked hard to create a community hub which supports local authors and aspiring writers. In 2023, she took on joint management of The Creative Writing Programme, the leading independent centre for creative writing teaching in the south-east of England, which is now based at the bookshop.

NB: We apologise for the inconvenience, but our bookshop is currently not wheelchair accessible.

The toilets are located on the ground floor.

The event space/bookroom café is located at the top of a staircase (17 steps).

Please do get in touch if you’d like to know more details to plan your visit ahead.

Email is: salomee@kemptownbookshop.co.uk

Contact the host of Book Launch - Bonfire by Iona Hepburn