Join us for an evening with Ali Watkins to celebrate the launch of The Next One Is For You as part of Imagine Festival 2025. Book your free ticket here.

About The Next One Is For You:

Join us for this launch of a gripping tale of crime, rebellion and the hazy line between them – the definitive account of America’s hand in the Northern Ireland conflict. From New York Times reporter and Pulitzer finalist Ali Watkins, this true-crime saga is the long-buried story of how a group of Philadelphia gunrunners armed the IRA at the height of the Troubles.

Northern Ireland, 1975. Violence has erupted on the streets of Belfast. After years as a sleepy, guerrilla army, the IRA is clashing with Loyalist gangs and heavily armed British soldiers. But the Troubles have spilled beyond the small island: An ocean away, in the heart of Philadelphia’s Irish enclave, a teenage girl finds a letter in her mailbox. Inside is a bullet, and the message is clear: the next one is for you or your family.

Ali Watkins is a journalist for The New York Times on the London bureau, previously covering crime and law enforcement. She was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for coverage of the Senate’s report on the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program.