Local Fires

Local Fires sees debut writer Joshua Jones turn his acute focus to his birthplace of Llanelli, South Wales. Sardonic and melancholic, joyful and grieving, these multifaceted stories may be set in a small town, but they have reach far beyond their locality. From the inertia of living in an ex-industrial working-class area, to gender, sexuality, toxic masculinity and neurodivergence, Jones has crafted a collection versatile in theme and observation, as the misadventures of the town’ s inhabitants threaten to spill over into an incendiary finale.

Joshua Jones (he/him) is a queer, autistic writer and artist from Llanelli, South Wales. He has an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, and has been published by Gutter Magazine, The Pomegranate London, Poetry Wales, Broken Sleep Books, and more. He has been commended by the Poetry Society and his story ‘ Half Moon, New Year’ was shortlisted for the Rhys Davies Short Story Prize in 2021. His ‘ poetic installations’ have been exhibited at Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea, Ty Turner House in Penarth, and elsewhere.