Maria Ferguson 
Keele Hall Readings 
Feb 16th. 6-7pm. Raven Mason Suite. 

Maria Ferguson is a writer and performer. Her poetry has been widely anthologised and published in literary magazines such as Magma, The Rialto, The North and The Poetry Review. She was a finalist of the Montreal International Poetry Prize 2024 and her debut collection, Alright, Girl? (Burning Eye, 2020), was Highly Commended in the Forward Prizes.

On the stage, her one-woman show Fat Girls Don’t Dance (Oberon, 2017) won the Saboteur Award for Best Spoken Word Show; Essex Girl (Oberon, 2019) was shortlisted for the Tony Craze Award and won Show of the Week at VAULT Festival.

She has been commissioned by the Royal Academy of Arts, Stylist magazine, The Bronte Parsonage and BBC Radio. Her work has been featured in The Guardian and on Radio 4’s The Verb and Woman’s Hour. She is the Associate Producer of LIVEwire Poetry and teaches creative writing in a variety of settings. Her second poetry collection, Swell was published in 2025 by Penguin Random House. 

Photo Credit; Suzi Corker

FREE event.

PARKING & HOW TO FIND US: Parking is free on campus after 5pm on a weekday and during the weekend. During a weekday parking is limited on campus and restricted to P&D parking located outside the Student Union building during the daytime (until 5pm).  
Campus map here: https://www.keele.ac.uk/about/howtofindus/maps/keele-campus-map.pdf  
Keele Hall is in Building 12 on this map, the nearest P&D car park is located on Union Square adjacent to the University Chapel, Building 7 on the map. This car park is free during the evening and at weekends and pay and display during weekdays.  

ACCESS: Keele Hall is accessible. There are a number of disabled parking bays in close proximity. There access across a cobbled courtyard from the car park. There is a lift inside the main reception which will take you to the main floors of the building. Keele University is a busy teaching campus during a weekday; if you prefer a quieter time to visit we open on a few weekend dates during the year. 

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