Got my ticket! Come hear Kristie talking about her book in person

I have really limited promotional energy right now, but wanted to mention that I will be at Aye Write with my absolute fav, the brilliant Kat Hill. Mitchell Library, Glasgow. 13th November, 6pm. Tickets at link below. It'll be good. www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/both...

I have really limited promotional energy right now, but wanted to mention that I will be at Aye Write with my absolute fav, the brilliant Kat Hill. Mitchell Library, Glasgow. 13th November, 6pm. Tickets at link below. It'll be good. www.glasgowlife.org.uk/event/1/both...

Excited to read this new book, by @kristiedegaris.bsky.social, before hosting the author for a reading @uofgartshums.bsky.social soon.

Not online much. Mental health is very poor. Living quietly and trying to get through. Take care of yourselves, it's hard out there.

I'm here for this...

A great deal for Nic's fantastic book. Also an opportunity to support a great person (which I think is important!)

Finished. My hot take ... crikey. This is a raw, cut and thrust memoir describing a life that has mostly been a long and hard uphill drag. Why would it not be given racism, poverty, undiagnosed ADHD etc etc? @kristiedegaris.bsky.social Read in 2 x 3 hour sessions. Recommended.

Pragmatism has become the most useful way I know to survive modern life. Not a grand theory, not a magic pill or perfect fix - just a way to see what actually works. This is the first in a series of essays on pragmatism. kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/what-works... #Philosophy #Scotland #Writing

just ordered a copy of @kristiedegaris.bsky.social ’s memoir,‘Drystone' - I’ve been excited and curious to read this for a while, and it’s nice to order a book from an independent publisher, Birlinn, that I’m not familiar with

"[Stone] Created by powerful natural forces. But unlike the stars, I can hold it in my hands. Shape it with a hammer. Stack it in such a way that someone two hundred years from now will see those stones—lifted by my body, placed by my fingers—and know something of my intent." 🫶

If you’d like to read my Anne Brown Essay Prize–shortlisted piece, you can find it at the link below. kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/the-stone-... #Essay #WritingCommunity #Scotland #Writing #Reading

Congrats to Tamara Fulcher on winning the Anne Brown Essay prize 2025! Very much looking forward to reading her essay. Here are a couple of photos of Wigtown in the sun and a photo of me that I forced my ex-husband (and best pal) to take. The 'SV' stands for Svea Vikander of course.

Scrubbed-up Kristie - a rare sighting. Iron at the Air BnB wasn't working properly so hopefully the (considerable) heat from my tits will get the creases out of the shirt before we arrive at Anne Brown Essay Prize ceremony ;)

Very pleased and very proud to say that I have been shortlisted for this year’s Anne Brown Essay Prize. www.wigtownbookfestival.com/blog/shortli...

Very pleased and very proud to say that I have been shortlisted for this year’s Anne Brown Essay Prize. www.wigtownbookfestival.com/blog/shortli...

#read Fascinating, thought-provoking and beautifully-written life story of the author’s @kristiedegaris.bsky.social struggles facing racism, addictions, misogyny, abuse, family issues, trauma etc. all remembered as she moves to rural Scotland and starts a 'new' life building dry-stone constructions.

"Reviews are not private diaries. They carry cultural authority, shaping what counts & what is dismissed. That authority demands rigour: asking what comes easily & what is overlooked; whose voices are granted authority; what is elevated as universal & what is marked as particular." #writingcommunity

I will never get over the generosity of women. In my life. In books. And I loved this one. #Books #Scotland #Writing

My mental health has been trash. I got my hair cut really short (wee undercut at back). Hopefully the two are unrelated.

Misogynistic, ableist reviews only strengthen these damaging attitudes and beliefs. This is a perceptive critique of a critique - one that tells us more about the reviewer in the Scotsman than the book he's reviewing. #booksky #naturewriting #lifewriting #memoir #chronicilllness #longcovid

When life gives you lemons (a review I thought was lazy and damaging in the way it framed women’s writing), make lemonade (a 2,500-word essay on the habits of literary criticism). kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/literary-c... #Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading #Scotland #Books

Given how many times this has appeared in my feed today it's likely you'll already have seen/read this. If you haven't, please do, not least for how it reveals the often-unnoticed biases that society perpetuates.

With book recommendations, sometimes it’s the right book at the wrong time and I might be waiting years for a friend to get round it it. Less expected is the right book at the right time; especially if it’s a book you wrote yourself. Thanks @kristiedegaris.bsky.social, high praise indeed!

Anyway, what prompted me to post about this today was Kristie's absolutely masterful response to a review in the Scotsman, highlighting the way marginalised writers are talked over and their experiences dismissed in literary criticism. Don't think yer man was expecting a 2500 word rebuttal 😆

Brilliant review of a review here: “This review could have reached in many directions but chose MacDiarmid, not to illuminate my book but to overshadow it. The comparison itself reveals the habit — authority transferred to the male poet with a pen in his hand over the woman with a hammer in hers”

'If criticism can’t itself be criticised without risk, then the system is rigged to reward silence' - A great read, expressing thoughts many writers will find familiar. Why aren't more of us reviewing our reviews?

A long, chewy Sunday read. Reviews are powerful. This essay looks at literary criticism: what it elevates, what it dismisses, and how those choices quietly shape which voices and stories are valued in our culture. kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/literary-c... #Reading #Writing #Books #Scotland #UK

I appreciated Kristie De Garis’s insightful discussion of the patterns of prejudice. “Prejudice works quietly. It slips in through small choices, unconscious habits, reflex comparisons. … it’s about recognising how the same patterns reappear, and what they quietly erase each time.”

Literary criticism carries cultural authority, which is why it must be as rigorous about its own habits as it is about the books it reviews Authors aren’t supposed to do this. Luckily, I’ve never been good at following rules that are entirely made up kristiedegaris.substack.com/p/literary-c...

"While the metaphor of drystone walling – you must take apart a wall before you can build it back stronger – could weigh heavily, De Garis uses it sparingly and effectively." My review of #DrystoneALifeRebuilt by @kristiedegaris.bsky.social #nonfiction #book bookmunch.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/a...

Really in-depth review of my book 'Drystone' from Bookmunch. Grateful that they picked up not just on the story, but on the craft - the restraint, the humour, and the wider social critique I hoped would come through. You can read it here: bookmunch.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/a... #Books #Scotland

Really in-depth review of my book 'Drystone' from Bookmunch. Grateful that they picked up not just on the story, but on the craft - the restraint, the humour, and the wider social critique I hoped would come through. You can read it here: bookmunch.wordpress.com/2025/09/01/a... #Books #Scotland

I keep getting asked for my salty thoughts about the Salt Path as my position on nature cure narratives is v clear! A mere fraction of those thoughts published here @literaryhub.bsky.social, with thanks to @bookwormvaught.bsky.social and @nicwilson.bsky.social for their earlier pieces linked below.

Tomorrow evening we will be joined by @kristiedegaris.bsky.social in St Peter's Church to discuss her emotionally powerful memoir "Drystone: A Life Rebuilt". Kristie writes with unflinching honesty on the topics of landscape, race, motherhood, and identity. Tickets: tinyurl.com/FFTMCDrystone

I want to pump these reviews for my book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt' into my veins!!! (review in alt text) #Books #Scotland #UK #Writing #Reading

I want to pump these reviews for my book 'Drystone - A Life Rebuilt' into my veins!!! (review in alt text) #Books #Scotland #UK #Writing #Reading

I was just wondering when this would show up. I've been looking forward to it! @kristiedegaris.bsky.social

If your book club is #Reading my book 'Drystone – A Life Rebuilt', I’d be glad to join you online for an hour’s Q&A. No fee, just a chance to talk about the book and your questions. If this is something that would work for your club, drop me a message/email. #UK #Books #Scotland #Writing #Author

Next week, we'll be sitting down with @kristiedegaris.bsky.social to discuss "Drystone: A Life Rebuilt" - her powerful memoir which weaves together the ancient craft of dry stone walling with her lived experience of race, motherhood, and identity. Tickets: tinyurl.com/FFTMCDrystone

Come see me be charming and interesting af on the 27th August at 7pm, St Peter's Church, Linlithgow. Tickets £8. 45 minutes of Q&A, then audience questions (questions I won't be answering are below ;) and finally an opportunity to buy a book and have it signed. #Scotland #Event #Books #Reading

Come see me be charming and interesting af on the 27th August at 7pm, St Peter's Church, Linlithgow. Tickets £8. 45 minutes of Q&A, then audience questions (questions I won't be answering are below ;) and finally an opportunity to buy a book and have it signed. #Scotland #Event #Books #Reading

A bit on books and reading in Scottish Field. First book, a book I always recommend, best book this year, book I am most looking forward to, a book I didn't finish etc etc www.scottishfield.co.uk/books/the-go... #Books #Scotland #UK #WritingCommunity #Writing #Reading

#Book #GoodReads #AuthorKristieDeGaris #ADHD #MentalHealth #WomensHealth #AttentionDeficit #Hyperactivity #Functioning

I’m always shocked when someone likes my stories. It’s almost a foreign concept to me.

I will never get over the fact that I have written a book that people think is really good. It will never get old and I will never stop thinking this is the coolest thing in the world. Thank you, thank you! #Books #Book #Scotland #Writing #Reading

A bit on books and reading in Scottish Field. First book, a book I always recommend, best book this year, book I am most looking forward to, a book I didn't finish etc etc www.scottishfield.co.uk/books/the-go... #Books #Scotland #UK #WritingCommunity #Writing #Reading

Just when I thought I couldn't love booksellers more... 😍 🙏🏿 🎇 #Book #Books #Scotland #UK #Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading

Just when I thought I couldn't love booksellers more... 😍 🙏🏿 🎇 #Book #Books #Scotland #UK #Writing #WritingCommunity #Reading