Kindling Ashes

Stephen Rowley was born and lived in Belfast until 1972, where he attended Annadale Grammar School. He earned a BA from the University of Essex (1975) and a PhD from the University of Manchester (1979). Stephen also holds a PGCE in TESOL (University of London), a Maîtrise (University of Bordeaux), and a Habilitation (University of Paris). In 2008, he was appointed Professor of English at Artois University (France), where he also served as Vice-President for International Affairs for five years. He was later recruited by the prestigious Sun Yat-sen University in China as part of the '100 Talents Programme', becoming director of the European Centre there. Stephen edited and wrote the introduction to European Perceptions of China and Perspectives on the Belt and Road Initiative (Brill, 2021) and has published more than 60 academic articles in journals across the UK, US, France, Italy, and China. He has also written several works of fiction and poetry. His second collection of short stories, The Woman from theOther Side (2023), and his novel Kindling Ashes (2024), were both published by Austin Macauley.