Kirsten MacQuarrie

I am a novelist, short story writer and poet who is passionate about amplifying the voices of hidden women in history. My debut novel Remember the Rowan (Ringwood, 2024) is longlisted for the People’s Book Prize, and my work has also been published by New Writing Scotland, the Scottish Poetry Library, Gutter, Scottish PEN, the Women's History Network, Bluestocking Oxford, the Federation of Writers Scotland, Postbox Magazine, Speculative Books, Edinburgh Literary Salon, Stand Magazine, the Young Women's Movement, the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, DREICH, Skirting Around, -algia, Abridged and others. I have been shortlisted for a Vogue Magazine Young Talent Award, selected as an Editor's Choice for the John Byrne Award and twice winner of the Glasgow Women's Library Poetry Prize.

I have extensive experience of leading, chairing and contributing to events for all audience sizes, in person and online. As Sector Development Manager for CILIP Scotland, the professional association for the nation’s library staff, I am also especially eager to champion the vital value of libraries within Scotland’s literary landscape.