Biography 

Morag grew up in a village nestled on the banks of the river Tweed in the Scottish Borders. At the age of eight she decided she wanted to be an astronomer – partly because she loved the drama of the night sky and partly because she wanted to travel the world. After high school she headed off to university to study astrophysics and got hooked, not only on studying the stars but on acquiring degrees. Ten years and three degrees later, astronomy brought her to Tucson, AZ for a postdoctoral position working at a beautiful telescope perched high on the Santa Rita Mountains.

Throughout the years of studying and working in science she continued to foster her long-standing affection for the ‘book’ and would often be found ambling around bookstores. Indeed on a break from academia before earning her Masters degree she worked in a much-loved independent bookstore in Edinburgh so that she could be paid to loiter with the books.

While living in Arizona she met the boy who would become her husband and who is a large part of why she has discovered a joy for creative writing. After four years of long-distance dating (and getting married while still living in different states) a job opportunity for her husband brought them both to Toledo, OH where they now live with their young daughter. Since arriving in Toledo, Morag has taken courses in creative writing at The University of Toledo, Skriva Writing School (Edinburgh), Moniack Mhor (Scottish Highlands), Curtis Brown Creative (online), the Literati Bookstore (Ann Arbor), and Mailstrom (online, run by Erika Mailman).

Education

University of Toledo /  English, Creative Writing / BA (Hons) uncompleted
University of Edinburgh / Astronomy / PhD 2007
University of Manchester / Radio Astronomy / MPhil 2002
University of St. Andrews / Astrophysics / BSc Hons 1999

Publications + Awards

Toledo Arts Commission / Accelerator Grant Reward / 2020
Reading @ Literati Bookstore, Ann Arbor, MI / Left Spaces / 2019
Honors Thesis / “Daddy’s Boy”: A Son’s Struggle with Masculinity in Jackie Kay’s Trumpet / University of Toledo / 2017
Shapiro Writing Contest / Chilean Skies / Winner Writing Category / 2017
Khroma / Tchaikovsky Desires / Fall 2016
Mind Murals / Thwarted / 2016
Khroma / We Call It Voight-Kampff For Short / March 2016
The Write Practice Writing Contest / Second Chance Daughter / Shortlisted / Sept 2015
Shapiro Writing Contest / Thwarted / Winner Prose Category / 2015
Shapiro Writing Contest / Untitled Novel Extract / Winner Writing Category / 2015
The Mill Literary Magazine / Great Literature for the Everyman / Best Non-Fiction / Spring 2015
The Mill Literary Magazine / News / Best Fiction / Fall 2012