The Agnes Owens Archive
@aowensarchive.bsky.social
Opening 16.01.26, a new public resource dedicated to the Scottish writer Agnes Owens. This archive is housed within agrayarchive.bsky.social
Owens wrote about “people like that.”
Her stories centre those usually ignored, institutionalised, or condemned—without asking the reader for sympathy.
She said: “The underdog can turn round and bite you just the same as any other dog.”
This is fiction that refuses moral comfort.
Her stories centre those usually ignored, institutionalised, or condemned—without asking the reader for sympathy.
She said: “The underdog can turn round and bite you just the same as any other dog.”
This is fiction that refuses moral comfort.
February 20, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Owens wrote about “people like that.”
Her stories centre those usually ignored, institutionalised, or condemned—without asking the reader for sympathy.
She said: “The underdog can turn round and bite you just the same as any other dog.”
This is fiction that refuses moral comfort.
Her stories centre those usually ignored, institutionalised, or condemned—without asking the reader for sympathy.
She said: “The underdog can turn round and bite you just the same as any other dog.”
This is fiction that refuses moral comfort.
With support from Gray, Kelman, and Lochhead, Agnes published Gentlemen of the West in 1984. The book centres on Mac, a young bricklayer navigating masculinity, unemployment, and collapse in post-industrial Scotland.
Drawn from stories told by her son John.
Drawn from stories told by her son John.
February 19, 2026 at 7:55 AM
With support from Gray, Kelman, and Lochhead, Agnes published Gentlemen of the West in 1984. The book centres on Mac, a young bricklayer navigating masculinity, unemployment, and collapse in post-industrial Scotland.
Drawn from stories told by her son John.
Drawn from stories told by her son John.
In the mid-1970s, Agnes joined an extra-mural writing group in the Vale of Leven.
Liz Lochhead read her story Arabella and immediately recognised its force—sharing it with Alasdair Gray and James Kelman. All three understood they were encountering a voice that refused compromise.
Liz Lochhead read her story Arabella and immediately recognised its force—sharing it with Alasdair Gray and James Kelman. All three understood they were encountering a voice that refused compromise.
February 18, 2026 at 8:59 AM
In the mid-1970s, Agnes joined an extra-mural writing group in the Vale of Leven.
Liz Lochhead read her story Arabella and immediately recognised its force—sharing it with Alasdair Gray and James Kelman. All three understood they were encountering a voice that refused compromise.
Liz Lochhead read her story Arabella and immediately recognised its force—sharing it with Alasdair Gray and James Kelman. All three understood they were encountering a voice that refused compromise.
Agnes Owens wrote between shifts, childcare, & exhaustion. Her serious writing career began later in life - not from lack of ambition, but from structural constraint. Her work challenges the myth that literary greatness requires institutional permission.
February 17, 2026 at 9:18 AM
Agnes Owens wrote between shifts, childcare, & exhaustion. Her serious writing career began later in life - not from lack of ambition, but from structural constraint. Her work challenges the myth that literary greatness requires institutional permission.
Life in the Vale of Leven - After Sam Crosbie’s death, Agnes Owens moved to Alexandria and later married Patrick Owens. She raised seven children, worked multiple jobs, and wrote when she could—her fiction rooted in labour, home, and strained communities.
February 15, 2026 at 9:55 AM
Life in the Vale of Leven - After Sam Crosbie’s death, Agnes Owens moved to Alexandria and later married Patrick Owens. She raised seven children, worked multiple jobs, and wrote when she could—her fiction rooted in labour, home, and strained communities.
In 1949, Agnes and her family travelled north searching for work and housing.
They lived in tents and condemned buildings before returning south.
This period later became her autobiographical short story
Marching to the Highlands and Into the Unknown.
They lived in tents and condemned buildings before returning south.
This period later became her autobiographical short story
Marching to the Highlands and Into the Unknown.
February 12, 2026 at 4:59 PM
In 1949, Agnes and her family travelled north searching for work and housing.
They lived in tents and condemned buildings before returning south.
This period later became her autobiographical short story
Marching to the Highlands and Into the Unknown.
They lived in tents and condemned buildings before returning south.
This period later became her autobiographical short story
Marching to the Highlands and Into the Unknown.
Agnes attended Milngavie Public School & Bearsden Academy. In 1948, she married Sam Crosbie. Together they raised 4 children amid post-war housing shortages & employment insecurity.
These pressures—domestic, economic, emotional—would become central to her fiction.
These pressures—domestic, economic, emotional—would become central to her fiction.
February 7, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Agnes attended Milngavie Public School & Bearsden Academy. In 1948, she married Sam Crosbie. Together they raised 4 children amid post-war housing shortages & employment insecurity.
These pressures—domestic, economic, emotional—would become central to her fiction.
These pressures—domestic, economic, emotional—would become central to her fiction.
Agnes Owens (née McLearie), born 24 May 1926 in Milngavie, grew up working-class amid labour and war. These early rhythms shaped her unsentimental, darkly comic prose, alert to the quiet violences of ordinary life.
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
February 6, 2026 at 9:26 AM
Agnes Owens (née McLearie), born 24 May 1926 in Milngavie, grew up working-class amid labour and war. These early rhythms shaped her unsentimental, darkly comic prose, alert to the quiet violences of ordinary life.
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
🎉 The Alasdair Gray Archive is 6! 🎉
Thanks to everyone who’s supported us since 2020. We’ve grown into a publicly accessible Glasgow resource, cared for by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social. Help us keep growing—donate via the link in our bio.
#alasdairgray #thealasdairgrayarchive
Thanks to everyone who’s supported us since 2020. We’ve grown into a publicly accessible Glasgow resource, cared for by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social. Help us keep growing—donate via the link in our bio.
#alasdairgray #thealasdairgrayarchive
February 3, 2026 at 12:21 PM
🎉 The Alasdair Gray Archive is 6! 🎉
Thanks to everyone who’s supported us since 2020. We’ve grown into a publicly accessible Glasgow resource, cared for by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social. Help us keep growing—donate via the link in our bio.
#alasdairgray #thealasdairgrayarchive
Thanks to everyone who’s supported us since 2020. We’ve grown into a publicly accessible Glasgow resource, cared for by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social. Help us keep growing—donate via the link in our bio.
#alasdairgray #thealasdairgrayarchive
2026 marks 100 years since the birth of Agnes Owens. A year-long centenary programme will celebrate her life, writing, and legacy through archives, exhibitions, reissues, and public events. Full details via link in bio.
February 2, 2026 at 7:42 AM
2026 marks 100 years since the birth of Agnes Owens. A year-long centenary programme will celebrate her life, writing, and legacy through archives, exhibitions, reissues, and public events. Full details via link in bio.
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
PLEASE SHARE 🙏
Come visit us and @aowensarchive.bsky.social in February 2026! Tours led by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social Sorcha worked with Alasdair since 2007, has a deep knowledge of the collections.
➡️February 6th, 13th, 20th, and 28th at 11am. Book via Eventbrite 🙏
Come visit us and @aowensarchive.bsky.social in February 2026! Tours led by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social Sorcha worked with Alasdair since 2007, has a deep knowledge of the collections.
➡️February 6th, 13th, 20th, and 28th at 11am. Book via Eventbrite 🙏
January 31, 2026 at 6:48 PM
PLEASE SHARE 🙏
Come visit us and @aowensarchive.bsky.social in February 2026! Tours led by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social Sorcha worked with Alasdair since 2007, has a deep knowledge of the collections.
➡️February 6th, 13th, 20th, and 28th at 11am. Book via Eventbrite 🙏
Come visit us and @aowensarchive.bsky.social in February 2026! Tours led by Custodian @sorchadallas.bsky.social Sorcha worked with Alasdair since 2007, has a deep knowledge of the collections.
➡️February 6th, 13th, 20th, and 28th at 11am. Book via Eventbrite 🙏
Researching Agnes Owens: our archive is reshaping how she’s understood. Laura MacDonald’s CDA is the first full study of Owens’ work, using archives and oral histories to centre her as a feminist, working-class voice. Supported by @sgsah.bsky.social delivered with Strathclyde & Glasgow universities
January 29, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Researching Agnes Owens: our archive is reshaping how she’s understood. Laura MacDonald’s CDA is the first full study of Owens’ work, using archives and oral histories to centre her as a feminist, working-class voice. Supported by @sgsah.bsky.social delivered with Strathclyde & Glasgow universities
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
Gray Day 2026: Reimagined Glasgow—45 Years of Lanark. Alasdair & Agnes: connected archives & literary lives with Sorcha @sorchadallas.bsky.social @aowensarchive.bsky.social & Laura MacDonald. 25 Feb, Kelvingrove, 2–3pm. Free: Katie.bruce@glasgowlife.org.uk
January 28, 2026 at 7:21 AM
Gray Day 2026: Reimagined Glasgow—45 Years of Lanark. Alasdair & Agnes: connected archives & literary lives with Sorcha @sorchadallas.bsky.social @aowensarchive.bsky.social & Laura MacDonald. 25 Feb, Kelvingrove, 2–3pm. Free: Katie.bruce@glasgowlife.org.uk
What’s in the Agnes Owens Archive? 700+ items (and growing): draft manuscripts, letters with Gray, Kelman & Lochhead, photos, press cuttings, plays, poetry & radio scripts—revealing a writer of precision and urgency.
January 22, 2026 at 9:58 AM
What’s in the Agnes Owens Archive? 700+ items (and growing): draft manuscripts, letters with Gray, Kelman & Lochhead, photos, press cuttings, plays, poetry & radio scripts—revealing a writer of precision and urgency.
Introducing The Agnes Owens Archive (AOA). Housed within @agrayarchive.bsky.social it is the first standalone satellite archive —illuminating the creative network around Gray while restoring Owens to her rightful literary position. Posts to follow will celebrate her life and legacy.
January 21, 2026 at 10:46 AM
Introducing The Agnes Owens Archive (AOA). Housed within @agrayarchive.bsky.social it is the first standalone satellite archive —illuminating the creative network around Gray while restoring Owens to her rightful literary position. Posts to follow will celebrate her life and legacy.
Thanks to @scotnational.bsky.social & @kirstininnes.bsky.social for featuring Agnes Owens as one of the ‘10 Things That Changed My Life’ in todays issue. We’re thrilled to welcome Kirstin & @heatherparry.bsky.social next week to begin their writer residencies with us & @agrayarchive.bsky.social
January 18, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Thanks to @scotnational.bsky.social & @kirstininnes.bsky.social for featuring Agnes Owens as one of the ‘10 Things That Changed My Life’ in todays issue. We’re thrilled to welcome Kirstin & @heatherparry.bsky.social next week to begin their writer residencies with us & @agrayarchive.bsky.social
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
Great piece on a great writer. My 1985 edition of Lean Tales is a treasured possession.
January 17, 2026 at 10:49 AM
Great piece on a great writer. My 1985 edition of Lean Tales is a treasured possession.
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
A brilliant read- planning to buy the books now too
It's the centenary of the wonderful Agnes Owens' birth this year. Her books are being reissued & a satellite archive has officially opened within the Alasdair Gray archive. I spoke to her son, John, & wrote about this "most unfairly neglected of Scottish authors" in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social.
Finally, recognition for 'unfairly neglected' Scottish author Agnes Owens
Writer Agnes Owens was once seen as “part of a golden age of Scottish literature,” and influenced younger writers, including Janice Galloway,…
www.heraldscotland.com
January 17, 2026 at 11:05 AM
A brilliant read- planning to buy the books now too
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
“She was so good at evoking the claustrophobia and darkness and poverty of economics but plenitude of mind."
An excellent piece on Agnes Owens, by @danigaravelli.bsky.social. Dani has also written the introduction to a new edition of Gentlemen Of The West, which will be published by Polygon in May.
An excellent piece on Agnes Owens, by @danigaravelli.bsky.social. Dani has also written the introduction to a new edition of Gentlemen Of The West, which will be published by Polygon in May.
It's the centenary of the wonderful Agnes Owens' birth this year. Her books are being reissued & a satellite archive has officially opened within the Alasdair Gray archive. I spoke to her son, John, & wrote about this "most unfairly neglected of Scottish authors" in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social.
Finally, recognition for 'unfairly neglected' Scottish author Agnes Owens
Writer Agnes Owens was once seen as “part of a golden age of Scottish literature,” and influenced younger writers, including Janice Galloway,…
www.heraldscotland.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:30 PM
“She was so good at evoking the claustrophobia and darkness and poverty of economics but plenitude of mind."
An excellent piece on Agnes Owens, by @danigaravelli.bsky.social. Dani has also written the introduction to a new edition of Gentlemen Of The West, which will be published by Polygon in May.
An excellent piece on Agnes Owens, by @danigaravelli.bsky.social. Dani has also written the introduction to a new edition of Gentlemen Of The West, which will be published by Polygon in May.
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
It's the centenary of the wonderful Agnes Owens' birth this year. Her books are being reissued & a satellite archive has officially opened within the Alasdair Gray archive. I spoke to her son, John, & wrote about this "most unfairly neglected of Scottish authors" in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social.
Finally, recognition for 'unfairly neglected' Scottish author Agnes Owens
Writer Agnes Owens was once seen as “part of a golden age of Scottish literature,” and influenced younger writers, including Janice Galloway,…
www.heraldscotland.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:24 AM
It's the centenary of the wonderful Agnes Owens' birth this year. Her books are being reissued & a satellite archive has officially opened within the Alasdair Gray archive. I spoke to her son, John, & wrote about this "most unfairly neglected of Scottish authors" in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social.
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
Both the @agrayarchive.bsky.social and the @aowensarchive.bsky.social are here on Bluesky – follow them for more information!
It's the centenary of the wonderful Agnes Owens' birth this year. Her books are being reissued & a satellite archive has officially opened within the Alasdair Gray archive. I spoke to her son, John, & wrote about this "most unfairly neglected of Scottish authors" in the @heraldscotland.bsky.social.
Finally, recognition for 'unfairly neglected' Scottish author Agnes Owens
Writer Agnes Owens was once seen as “part of a golden age of Scottish literature,” and influenced younger writers, including Janice Galloway,…
www.heraldscotland.com
January 17, 2026 at 1:18 PM
Both the @agrayarchive.bsky.social and the @aowensarchive.bsky.social are here on Bluesky – follow them for more information!
Reposted by The Agnes Owens Archive
Just picked up a copy of today’s Herald. Good timing as I’ve finished For The Love of Willie today. It’s my 3rd time reading it and the ending still catches me off guard. I’d made lots of notes about Peggy previously, so the plan is to distill all of this and finish a psychological portrait for her
Pick up The Herald magazine today 🗞️ for @danigaravelli.bsky.social on Agnes Owens—her overlooked place in Scottish lit and plans for her 2026 centenary, plus reissues by @birlinn.bsky.social and archive work celebrating her legacy we are developing with @agnesowenslitest.bsky.social
January 17, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Just picked up a copy of today’s Herald. Good timing as I’ve finished For The Love of Willie today. It’s my 3rd time reading it and the ending still catches me off guard. I’d made lots of notes about Peggy previously, so the plan is to distill all of this and finish a psychological portrait for her
Pick up The Herald magazine today 🗞️ for @danigaravelli.bsky.social on Agnes Owens—her overlooked place in Scottish lit and plans for her 2026 centenary, plus reissues by @birlinn.bsky.social and archive work celebrating her legacy we are developing with @agnesowenslitest.bsky.social
January 17, 2026 at 9:52 AM
Pick up The Herald magazine today 🗞️ for @danigaravelli.bsky.social on Agnes Owens—her overlooked place in Scottish lit and plans for her 2026 centenary, plus reissues by @birlinn.bsky.social and archive work celebrating her legacy we are developing with @agnesowenslitest.bsky.social
PLEASE SHARE — WE’RE OPEN 📚
The Agnes Owens Archive is now open at @agrayarchive.bsky.social AGA’s first satellite archive, restoring Owens to her rightful place in Scottish literature.
Free tours Jan 23 & 31, 2026. Book via Eventbrite (link in bio).
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
The Agnes Owens Archive is now open at @agrayarchive.bsky.social AGA’s first satellite archive, restoring Owens to her rightful place in Scottish literature.
Free tours Jan 23 & 31, 2026. Book via Eventbrite (link in bio).
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
January 16, 2026 at 4:15 PM
PLEASE SHARE — WE’RE OPEN 📚
The Agnes Owens Archive is now open at @agrayarchive.bsky.social AGA’s first satellite archive, restoring Owens to her rightful place in Scottish literature.
Free tours Jan 23 & 31, 2026. Book via Eventbrite (link in bio).
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
The Agnes Owens Archive is now open at @agrayarchive.bsky.social AGA’s first satellite archive, restoring Owens to her rightful place in Scottish literature.
Free tours Jan 23 & 31, 2026. Book via Eventbrite (link in bio).
#agnesowens #theagnesowensarchive
