Kristie De Garis
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kristiedegaris.bsky.social
Kristie De Garis
@kristiedegaris.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.4K following 1.4K posts
Writer // Photographer // Drystone Waller
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
moragperkinsphoto.com
Got my ticket! Come hear Kristie talking about her book in person
kristiedegaris.bsky.social Kristie De Garis @kristiedegaris.bsky.social · 5d
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...
Bothy and Drystone: Kat Hill and Kristie De Garis - Glasgow Life
Bothy and Drystone: Kat Hill and Kristie De Garis
www.glasgowlife.org.uk
November 5, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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...
Bothy and Drystone: Kat Hill and Kristie De Garis - Glasgow Life
Bothy and Drystone: Kat Hill and Kristie De Garis
www.glasgowlife.org.uk
November 5, 2025 at 11:57 AM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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...
Bothy and Drystone: Kat Hill and Kristie De Garis - Glasgow Life
Bothy and Drystone: Kat Hill and Kristie De Garis
www.glasgowlife.org.uk
November 5, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
kovesi.bsky.social
Excited to read this new book, by @kristiedegaris.bsky.social, before hosting the author for a reading @uofgartshums.bsky.social soon.
October 31, 2025 at 7:40 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
Not online much. Mental health is very poor. Living quietly and trying to get through.

Take care of yourselves, it's hard out there.
October 31, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
sheilab01.bsky.social
I'm here for this...
kristiedegaris.bsky.social Kristie De Garis @kristiedegaris.bsky.social · 28d
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
What Works When Nothing Does
A case for pragmatism in an age of collapse and exhaustion
kristiedegaris.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
A great deal for Nic's fantastic book. Also an opportunity to support a great person (which I think is important!)
nicwilson.bsky.social Nic Wilson @nicwilson.bsky.social · 28d
Land Beneath the Waves paperback has been chosen for Waterstones pre-order promotion!! Pre-orders make such a difference & if you could support & share, I'd be so grateful.

Enter “OCTOBER25” at checkout for 25% off RRP.

www.waterstones.com/campaign/oct...

@summersdalebooks.bsky.social
#WPreorder
October 14, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
philwalker.bsky.social
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.
A photo of a memoir by Kristie De Garis sitting on a table next to a cup of coffee and table decorations.
October 12, 2025 at 7:24 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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
What Works When Nothing Does
A case for pragmatism in an age of collapse and exhaustion
kristiedegaris.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
ianchanges.bsky.social
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
October 2, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
claireboardman.bsky.social
"[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." 🫶
September 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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
The Stone Is Heavy In My Hands — My Essay Shortlisted for the Anne Brown Prize
Today was the Anne Brown Essay Prize awards ceremony, which I attended as a shortlistee.
kristiedegaris.substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 4:48 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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.
Close-up view through a dusty blue-paned window, showing wooden bookshelves filled with second-hand books, including paperbacks by Andy McNab, James Patterson, and various thrillers and novels. Woman with short dark and grey hair wearing a teal-blue blouse and dark jeans, standing by a stone wall beside a river. A weathered red phone box is on the right, with trees and fields in the background. Concrete wall with a street sign reading “Low Vennel.” At the base of the wall, rows of plants grow from colourful old wellington boots and containers, next to a metal stand with hanging planters.
September 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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 ;)
A woman with short dark hair streaked with grey, wearing a teal-blue button-up blouse, takes a selfie indoors. She has a small nose stud and silver star-shaped earrings. Behind her is a tripod floor lamp, a shelf with books, and a closed white door.
September 28, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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...
Wigtown Book Festival | Eight-Strong Shortlist Unveiled Scotland’s…
The £1,500 prize and trophy will be awarded during a special event on Sunday 28 September at Bladnoch Distillery during the annual Wigtown Book Festival.
www.wigtownbookfestival.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:55 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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...
Wigtown Book Festival | Eight-Strong Shortlist Unveiled Scotland’s…
The £1,500 prize and trophy will be awarded during a special event on Sunday 28 September at Bladnoch Distillery during the annual Wigtown Book Festival.
www.wigtownbookfestival.com
September 19, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
briancutts.bsky.social
#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.
September 17, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
chrismollison.bsky.social
"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
kristiedegaris.bsky.social Kristie De Garis @kristiedegaris.bsky.social · Sep 15
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
Literary Criticism Under Review
Authors aren’t supposed to do this.
kristiedegaris.substack.com
September 17, 2025 at 10:06 AM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
I will never get over the generosity of women. In my life. In books. And I loved this one.

#Books #Scotland #Writing
Book cover of A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin. The cover features a close-up photograph of a woman with short, tousled brown hair, wearing turquoise drop earrings and subtle makeup, looking slightly to the side. The author’s name is printed in bold pink text at the top, with the title in black beneath it.
September 17, 2025 at 8:17 AM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
My mental health has been trash. I got my hair cut really short (wee undercut at back). Hopefully the two are unrelated.
A colour photograph of woman lying on a bed, wearing a burgundy long-sleeve top. She has short dark hair with a streak of grey at the front and is resting her head on a beige pillow, looking at the camera with a calm, relaxed expression.
September 16, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
nicwilson.bsky.social
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
kristiedegaris.bsky.social Kristie De Garis @kristiedegaris.bsky.social · Sep 15
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
Literary Criticism Under Review
Authors aren’t supposed to do this.
kristiedegaris.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM
kristiedegaris.bsky.social
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
Literary Criticism Under Review
Authors aren’t supposed to do this.
kristiedegaris.substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
laurenswillis.bsky.social
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.
kristiedegaris.bsky.social Kristie De Garis @kristiedegaris.bsky.social · Sep 14
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
Literary Criticism Under Review
Authors aren’t supposed to do this.
kristiedegaris.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
jordanacosta.co
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!
kristiedegaris.bsky.social Kristie De Garis @kristiedegaris.bsky.social · Sep 14
Ah, I understand so well. The person who 'unlocked' reading for me again (after about 10 years of feeling overwhelmed and fearful at the thought) is @jordanacosta.co with his (not yet released) amazing book Dark Century. Even now my health dictates my reading, it's all very start and stop.
September 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Kristie De Garis
moragperkinsphoto.com
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 😆
Extract from Kristie's Substack post: "To lift two lines from late in the book and hold them up as the measure isn't literary criticism. If we're playing lucky dip with sentences, let's position "Caithness is flat and vast and lies prostrate to a wind pushed inland by the thuggish North Sea" or "PETITE BRUNETTE GIVES AWESOME HANDJOB" as definitive. Absurd, obviously. Each is real, each is mine, but none stands as representative without the frame that holds it. My guess as to why this line was chosen as the litmus test is that it names identity, which is so often read as self-indulgent, performative, even didactic. Perhaps the politics of identity only feel frivolous if yours have never worked against you."
September 14, 2025 at 2:13 PM