Parthian bags 'supremely accomplished' debut short story collection by Jones

Welsh indie Parthian has landed Local Fires, the debut short story collection by Joshua Jones. 

Editor Robert Harries acquired world rights for the book directly from the author. It is scheduled for publication in autumn 2023.

Local Fires is set in the author’s hometown of Llanelli, where interconnected stories follow the lives and misadventures of the town’s inhabitants. "From a new bride waking up in a pool of her own vomit on the morning of her fourth wedding day, to a young girl who dreams of becoming a pop star and leaving her home for fame and fortune, to a firework shop proprietor raging at the opening of a new rival store, the stories in this collection explore the inertia of a working-class town in industrial South Wales, while delving into themes of toxic masculinity, mental health, gender and sexuality," the synopsis reads. 

Jones is a queer, autistic writer currently studying for a PGCE at Cardiff Met University. His work has appeared in the Common Breath, Nawr Magazine and Queerlings, and he was shortlisted for the 2021 Rhys Davies Short Story Prize and the Winter 2021 Reflex Fiction Prize. He also creates music and poetry under the name Human Head.

"From the moment I read Joshua’s Rhys Davies Prize-nominated short story ’Half Moon, New Year’, it was immediately clear to me that I was in the presence of a supremely accomplished, urgent new Welsh literary voice," said Harries. "A obvious comparison is Thomas Morris’ excellent We Don’t Know What We’re Doing, but the influences I felt within this work are wide-ranging, from Dylan Thomas’ seminal Under Milk Wood all the way to the lyrics and vernacular of lacerating Scottish indie duo Arab Strap. 

"Growing up feeling very much the outsider in a South Wales town myself, I felt a strong affinity to many of the stories and that I knew many characters intimately—but I firmly believe the world Joshua has created and the themes, people and happenings populating it will strike a chord with many readers far beyond these shores."