About this Event
Come into The Waves on the 30th of October — All Hallows’ Eve *eve* (or Mischief Night, Devil’s Night, Cabbage Night, Gate Night or Goosey Night) — for a celebration of Cathryn Kemp’s They Can’t Burn Us All. Cathryn will read from her ‘haunting, mesmerising’ (Naomi Kelsey, author of The Burnings) new novel and converse with fellow author Chris Bridges.
Set against a backdrop of sweeping religious and social change, They Can’t Burn Us All is a feminist retelling of Iceland’s notorious Kirkjuból witch trials. Westfjords, Iceland, 1655: Þuríður Jónsdóttir has grown up praying to the old gods and watching her father and brother practise rune magic. But a witch-hunting craze is sweeping across the land of ice and fire, fuelled by the Protestant Reformation. Unlike elsewhere in Europe, the persecuted are not women, but men of learning. When Þuríður’s father and brother are accused of witchcraft and condemned to burn at the stake, she is helpless to save them. As the accusing gaze turns to Þuríður herself — the first woman to be called ‘witch’ — she is prepared to fight back. But at what cost? And in an age of fear and persecution, whose side will the community take?
The Waves is thrilled to host this uniquely spine-tingling literary gathering.
Free entry — but seating is limited, so we advise you register your place here.
Cathryn Kemp is an acclaimed author whose debut novel A POISONER’S TALE, winner of the HWA Debut Crown 2025 and Le Grand Prix du Roman Historique 2026, has been published in multiple territories globally. Her memoir COMING CLEAN won The Big Red Read Prize for Non-Fiction. Her second novel THEY CAN’T BURN US ALL is out now from Penguin Random House. Cathryn is also a Sunday Times bestselling ghostwriter and a writing tutor with multiple institutions including our neighbor, the Hastings Writers Workshop.
Chris Bridges is an alumnus of the 2022 London Writers Award. His debut novel Sick to Death, shortlisted for the 2025 McDermid Debut Awards, was named an Observer crime book of the month. He has also written LGBTQ+ columns and theatre reviews. As a former NHS nurse with a hidden disability, Chris foregrounds untold stories of sick, dying, and disabled people. When not writing and reading, he can be found walking his ‘uptight’ poodle Frida Kahlo along the Hastings seafront.
Event venue & nearby stays
The Waves, 10 Claremont, Hastings, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.