Magnificent Margate writer/poet/legend Helen Heckety celebrates the paperback release of her debut novel Alter Ego, a story of fresh starts, fake personas and the long road to self-acceptance

7:00pm-9:00pm Fort Road Bar

Alter Ego is the story of Hattie, a young woman tired of having to constantly explain herself and the invisible condition she was diagnosed with as a two-year-old. Having long dreamt of escaping people's pitying looks and (sometimes) well-meaning interference, she wakes up one day and decides it's time for a whole new life... and so, she hatches The Plan. She leaves home without a word, hides out in a woodland cabin and starts a new job, meets new friends, all the while hiding who she really is. It's all fine until her shiny new mask starts to slip and she is forced to face the one person she can't escape... herself.

Helen Heckety is a multi-disciplinary writer who is disabled. She has written two acclaimed one-woman shows and toured them across the UK. Her debut poetry collection The Underlook was published in 2021 by The Poetry Business. She recently won the ADCI Literary Prize for Alter Ego and is currently working on her second novel. Helen will be discussing Alter Ego in conversation with World Poetry Slam Champion and fellow Margate legend Harry Baker.