John Garrison Marks

After most of the summer off, I'm hitting the road again for a busy season of book events! Come out to learn about Americans' centuries-long struggle to reckon with—and manipulate—George Washington's involvement in slavery.

My next three talks are at Washington & Lee, WashU in St. Louis, and Washington College on the eastern shore of Maryland. I've already spoken at George Washington University this year. There can't be that many more!

Had a great time delivering the evening keynote at the Pennsylvania Historical Association conference. Great group of engaged scholars and public historians from across the state.

This went crazy overnight and wow bluesky is NOT beating the whole “full of humorless scolds” allegations

Feeling good about the title I chose for my book right now, gotta say. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-...

I'm going to do a quick #SkyBuys thread to highlight books I've purchased (or purchased MORE of) because I read about them here on Bluesky. First up is Thy Will Be Done: George Washington's Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory, by @johngmarks.com. bookshop.org/p/books/thy-... 📚💙

Glad someone enjoyed this!

Great event speaking with William & Mary in DC about my book tonight. Predictably, their questions were really thoughtful and interesting. It’s always kind of an honor when people leave their house to come see you.

In case you missed it, we've launched the newly expanded Drafting the Past, a publication devoted to nonfiction history, with book reviews, interviews, publishing news, and more. Check it out: www.draftingthepast.com

Just showed a research assistant how to use the microfilm machine for the first time in her life. What a rush. Like initiating someone into the world's most boring cult.

The October book tour continues! 10/20: William & Mary Washington Center "Writers of Washington" series (DC) 10/23: Keynote at the PA Historical Association Conference (Bethlehem, PA) 10/28: Washington & Lee University (Lexington, VA) www.johngmarks.com/speaking

@rachelshelden.bsky.social joins us today on @askhistorians.bsky.social to discuss her new book The Political Supreme Court: A Forgotten History, new from @uncpress.bsky.social. Come check it out! www.reddit.com/r/AskHistori...

Arriving in Nashville: Hey cool live music in the airport! Departing Nashville: I am going to drop dead if I hear another Chris Stapleton cover.

After a lot of traveling the past few months, it was the Nashville airport on a Sunday night that finally broke me. Pure chaos.

Had a great time at the Southern Festival of Books talking with @gauthamrao.bsky.social and Susan O’Donovan about race, slavery, power, and memory. Fun to be back in Nashville for a day. Grateful to the team at @uncpress.bsky.social for the support!

Gonna be fun!

When did I realize I was middle aged? Probably when I heard a 20 year old MGMT song in a commercial for a three-row SUV.

Flying is such a luxury!

FINALLY

It seems virtually certain that the tech crowd is about to unironically speed-run a millennia old proslavery/antislavery discourse without ever cracking a book.

My upcoming talk is officially in the Washington & Lee online newspaper so let the hate mail begin columns.wlu.edu/john-garriso...

Me right now

My 4 year old tried beating me in Rock-Paper-Scissors by throwing his hand down and saying "GOD" and "JESUS" yesterday. Not sure what this means in terms of theology, but I respected it.

I'm headed to Wash U in St. Louis for a book talk next month, so I did a Q&A about my book with their library. Looking forward to talking about Washington, slavery, and memory at a place really grappling with those questions. library.washu.edu/news/qa-with...

It’s here!! Wild to have an actual copy of the book I spent 13 years on in my hands! If you want to preorder a copy of The Political Supreme Court, there’s still time before the official release date on October 27: a.co/d/08PThSrx. (Or uncpress.org/978146969713... if you’re avoiding Amazon)

This evening I was playing football with my 4 year old and he scored a touchdown, spun the ball on its point, and danced over top of it. I hope he picks up reading as fast as he’s picked up WR1 energy.

It feels like each year, major newspapers and magazines review a smaller and smaller number of nonfiction books, so I'm very excited to see this launch.

On the subject of historical figures whose legacies have been wildly distorted, a reminder: 1) My book shares Americans' centuries-long effort to manipulate George Washington's history with slavery and 2) I'm filling out my Spring 2027 schedule, so get in touch if you want me to come talk about it!

On the subject of historical figures whose legacies have been wildly distorted, a reminder: 1) My book shares Americans' centuries-long effort to manipulate George Washington's history with slavery and 2) I'm filling out my Spring 2027 schedule, so get in touch if you want me to come talk about it!

It's World Homeless Day, and I'll just say: Homelessness isn't some great unsolvable mystery. People are homeless because they don't have homes. This suffering persists not for lack of solutions, but because enormous wealth and power are invested in maintaining the very structures that produce it.

Love to have to abruptly abort a landing approach to DCA and climb back up and go around. Very cool given this airport‘s stellar reputation and new AI air traffic system.

Decided to press my luck and do this on the way home too, but with the added difficulty of doing it at the massive Bush Airport. Arrived at the curb 23 minutes before boarding, got to the gate 1 minute before boarding. What a thrill.

I forgot how bleak Houston-area highways are. With frontage roads and express lanes it’s like 20 lanes across. What a nightmare.