Author Bronwyn Hughes of Port Haywood will launch the publication of her first book, “Swing Bridge,” a collection of short stories, with a book signing and celebration, to be held from 4–7 p.m. next Thursday, June 8, at the Put-In Creek Pavilion on Brickbat Road in Mathews.

Music will be by the band Piankatank, with food available from the Positive Pizza food truck. There will be temporary tattoo giveaways of illustrations from the book that were created by Hughes’s spouse, Kat Sharp.

Proceeds from all sales will benefit the Mathews Outdoor Club.

Hughes said the fictional stories in the self-published book were all created while she was working on her MFA degree in creative writing at Randolph College. All of the stories are set in the fictional town of Mobjack, which is actually Mathews, she said. An island that’s repeatedly mentioned in the book is the thinly-disguised “Wynn’s Island,” she said, and the title of the book, “Swing Bridge,” is the Gwynn’s Island bridge.

The...