#129: Maggie Fergusson, author and journalist

<p>Rachel and Simon speak with the author and journalist Maggie Fergusson. After studying history at university, Maggie briefly worked in finance before joining <em>Harper's &amp; Queen </em>magazine (now known as <em>Harper's Bazaar.</em>) As a freelance writer, she was sent by the <em>Times </em>to interview the Scottish poet George Mackay Brown in 1992, and it proved the beginning of a friendship that would culminate with a <a href="https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/maggie-fergusson/george-mackay-brown/9781848547872/" target="_blank">prizewinning biography</a> published in 2006. Maggie became Secretary of the Royal Society in Literature in 1989; she continues to work at the RSL <a href="https://rsliterature.org/about-us/staff/" target="_blank">as the Literary Adviser</a> and edits their annual magazine. We spoke to Maggie about her work past and present at the RSL, her biographies of Mackay Brown and <a href="https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/michael-morpurgo-war-child-to-war-horse-maggie-fergusson?variant=32611673374798" target="_blank">Michael Morpurgo</a> and her journalism for the <a href="https://www.thetablet.co.uk/author/154/maggie-fergusson" target="_blank"><em>Tablet</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.1843magazine.com/contributor/837" target="_blank"><em>1843 Magazine</em></a><em> </em>and the <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/writer/maggie-fergusson" target="_blank"><em>Spectator</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>You can find us online at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.alwaystakenotes.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">alwaystakenotes.com</a>, on Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/takenotesalways" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@takenotesalways</a> and on Instagram&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/alwaystakenotes/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@alwaystakenotes</a>. Our crowdfunding page is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/alwaystakenotes" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">patreon.com/alwaystakenotes</a>. Always Take Notes i