Take Me to the River with Jackie Kemp and Vicky Allan

Established in 1976, Kemptown Bookshop is Brighton’s oldest independent bookshop. It has three floors of books for both adults and children and also sells premium stationery, cards and gifts. We are passionate about supporting local authors and  aspiring writers and regularly run book and poetry readings, book launches and discussions about books. Join our mailing list or keep an eye on our shop window for the latest events.

Kemptown Bookshop

Join us for a author talk to celebrate a  selection of joyful, immersive and life-affirming writing about wild swimming

Join us for talk with Jackie Kemp and Vicky Allan to talk about 'Take Me to the River' an anthology of wild swimming writing and stories. There will be time for questions and book signing at the end! About the book:Immerse yourself in an ocean of great literature. Gasp at the cold with Amy Liptrot. Be transfixed by Iris Murdoch's monster rising from the waves. Learn how to swim like the frogs with John Muir. Come on, dive in. A selection of joyful, immersive and life-affirming writing about wild swimming. From gentle dips in calm waters to fights for survival in stormy seas. From the erotic charge of a streamlined body to moments of revelation amidst the waves . . . Take Me to the River is an anthology not just of wild swimming writing, but of stories of how a jump into deep waters can change us. Open water swimming plays a pivotal role in many great narratives, taking us on an immersive journey, from Homer's Odyssey to contemporary poetry and memoirs. There is adventure here and aquatic playfulness. Grief and anguish, too; heartbreaks displaced and healed by watery spaces. Love and desire spark between characters at the edge of the water, as does freedom from constraint and the glorious energy of possibility and hope. Take Me to the River entices with a dip into the deep sea of words. Slide in. About the creators:Jackie Kemp is the co-creator of Take Me to the River, a personal collection of writing about wild swimming that explores the deep connection between water, nature and memory. She is now based in the Scottish Highlands, where she regularly swims in rivers and lochs near her home.Jackie has three grown-up children and is currently working on a new book about the Highlands and Islands. Jackie lived in Brighton in her youth - she studied Politics and International Relations at Sussex University and then stayed in the town for a couple of years. She was briefly employed as a tree surgeon on a graduate trainee scheme (but she was rubbish at that). Vicky Allan is the environment writer for the Herald, and has won awards for her travel-writing and features. She has written six books on wild swimming with co-author Anna Deacon, including The Art of Wild Swimming: Scotland and Taking the Plunge, as well as For the Love of Trees, a celebration of the connections between people and trees. With author Milo Clenshaw, she recently co-wrote the historical novel, Murray Hall. She regularly swims in a corner of sea on the shoreline of Edinburgh.