Carol-Ann

Carol Ann was born in S.E. London in 1948 and is now a grandmother in her sixties. She has lived in the foothills of the Grampian Mountains for the last 20 years and after 34 years in the IT industry has 'retired' to indulge her passions for travel, writing and photography. These travels have provided an abundant supply of source material for her writing and she is particularly interested in exploring the links between sacred landscapes, their legends and underlying geology.

As a member of Huntly Writers, Carol has been involved in various poetry readings and performances and contributed to both the Weaving Words and Open With Care anthologies. She has also published a children's book called Rifka, the Adventures of a Gnome.

Lucy Aykroyd

After thirty years as a farmer's wife in Auchterless, and eight more in Clatt, Lucy is at present a migrating swallow to the North-East. She continues to spend time close to the land exploring wild places and wild living. A mother and grandmother to a large family, her writing reflects her rich and varied life.
She is a member of a small writers group in Somerset and attends meetings in Huntly whenever possible.

Ruth Bean

Hi, my name is Ruth Bean and I have been member of the Huntly Writers Group since March 2006.

I have a strong affinity with both Scotland and England as my mother was born in the picturesque town of Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, and my father was born in the heart of London, Somerstown. Throughout my childhood our family holidays were spent in Scotland touring around the North-East and beyond.

Through my writing I love to invite the reader to take a step into the world were words express modern day life and situations.

In 2007 my poems were given airtime on Aberdeen's radio station ME FM along with three other Huntly Writers. Other pieces composed have been published in the Huntly Writers first publication Spirit of the Deveron in 2008 and in the Knock News regional advertiser from February 2010 to June 2010. More recently I have taken part alongside other Huntly Writers in a collaboration with Dudendance Company, Into the Woods, in Battlehill Woods, Huntly, September 2010, performing within a Woodland Orchestra led by sound artist Fabiana Galante. On 22nd September 2010 I performed along with the Huntly Writers at our own event Raspberry Ripple in the New Words 2010 festival at the Rizza's Ice Cream Factory, Huntly.

I hope you enjoy my poetry and will investigate other Huntly Writers listed on our website, our book, and hopefully think of joining our merry Huntly Writers group.

Ron Brander

Mary Burgerhout

Kristin Cooper

Kristin J Cooper was born in Brisbane, Australia, and now lives in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, where she writes stories, novels, and poetry in her spare time. In 2008 she wrote and co-produced the short film Carnies and went on to write film scripts for development and production. In 2014 her short story “Bad Mother” was published in Beyond the Nightlight, an anthology of horror stories, and in 2015 “The Christmas Party” was published in an anthology of adult fairy stories called Faed. She finds inspiration in myths, legends, fairytales, and the wild Scottish countryside, especially on cold dark nights by the fireside.
@KristinJCooper

Tom Cruickshank

Susan Miller

Growing up in the agricultural north-east surrounded by 'Scotland the What' humour, Susan, from a non-Doric household, learned to enjoy the rich sparseness of this area's dialect. She continues to experiment with both English and Doric, contributing to two HW anthologies, Lallans, Dyslexia and Us (Dyslexia Scotland) and POTB (Pushing out the Boat). Winner of the Buchan Heritage Society's Open Verse section in 2016, one of her favourite experiences with HW was creating, 'Pit on yer simmit,' a Doric Renga (and a world first) with four fellow members. Although now an in-absentia HW member, Susan drops in during school holidays.

Anne Forbes

After many years of research, Anne L. Forbes wrote a book entitled 'Trials and Triumphs - The Gordons of Huntly in Sixteenth-Century Scotland.' It was published in 2012 by John Donald, the academic imprint of Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh. She wrote a play entitled 'Who Killed the Cock of the North? (A whodunit with a difference!), about the 4th Earl of Huntly, which was performed in 2013 in the precincts of Huntly Castle by See Thru Productions, from Glass, directed by Alison Sellar. In 2014 she made a short film about the great benefactor of Glass, Alexander Geddes and his family as part of the Glass Film Festival. She has enjoyed being part of Huntly Writers and found their input helpful, especially when writing her book..
Anne was brought up in the south of England and taught in a London primary school, then in independent prep schools in Kenya and Norfolk. She came to the North-East of Scotland in 1980. Before concentrating on her writing, Anne taught general subjects in primary and prep schools there, She then enrolled at the University of Aberdeen as a mature student and, in 1995, gained a 2:1 degree in History. She taught the subject at an independent school in Zimbabwe up to International 'A' level, and then English up to GCSE 'O" level in Kenya . She has had several articles published in magazines including Saga about an alarming experience she and her husband had on an overland journey to visit their son and family in Azerbaijan. She would like to write more about their travels, for example going through Ethiopia and Sudan in 2001 on their back to UK.

Haseley Hinton

I was born in England. My mother was English, my father Italian. I have lived in Scotland for nineteen years and have come to love its people and landscapes dearly.

I enjoy watching science fiction films and television so much that I started trying to write my own scifi/fantasy stories a few years ago. I am just finishing off a second novel based on an imaginary planet populated by humanoid beings and by imaginary black birds with red beaks that I have called seacrows. I haven't reached the end of the story yet, so I think it might end up being a trilogy.

I am also trying to improve my short story writing and the writers' group is great for getting constructive feedback in a very positive atmosphere. The writing exercises that we do are good for broadening the scope of my efforts, as they encourage me to attempt some pieces that aren't scifi orientated.

Haworth Hodgkinson

Born in Lancashire and resident in North-East Scotland for twenty years, Haworth Hodgkinson is best known as a poet, but he also writes short stories and is involved in music and theatre.

His second poetry collection Tractor Bastard was published by Malfranteaux Concepts in 2012 and launched at the New Words festival.

His first collection A Weakness for Mermaids was published by Koo Press in 2007.

Poetry by Haworth Hodgkinson has also appeared in a wide range of magazines and anthologies.

In addition to performing as a poet and musician with the Blue Salt Collective, Haworth Hodgkinson is the Founder and Director of North-East Scotland's New Words festival.

See www.haworthhodgkinson.co.uk for more about Haworth Hodgkinson.

Janice

Annie Lamb

Annie Lamb originally from Boston, Massachusetts, was until recently a bookseller in Huntly. To enliven quiet moments in the trade she invented several imaginary friends and wrote about them in the Marchbank series of murder mysteries, using the pen name Liz Laighton. As a member of Huntly Writers she has been churning out short stories for some years and is now helping the Hound Holmes in the production of a casebook to be published shortly.

The Marchbank murder mysteries are: A Killer Close at Hand, Hideous Gifts and The Moon and I.

Fiona McClennan

John Robson

Born in the North East of England. I now live in Aberdeenshire with my wife and three daughters. Background in Engineering and Construction. Interest in natural history, history, gardening and architecture, have a passion for hounds. New to writing after a late start and thoroughly enjoying it.

Anne Rogers

Anne Rogers lives on a croft with her husband and various animals — all of whom help to make life worth living. She writes poems and short stories, many of which are composed whilst she's riding round the countryside on her horse or bicycle. She's been a member of Huntly Writers since March 2009.

Maureen Ross

Born and brought up in the North-East of Scotland, Maureen Ross has written poetry from early childhood till the present day. Most of it ends up in the bucket. However some of it has seen the light of day in recent years in Pushing Out the Boat and Storm. Koo Press published a chapbook collection of her work Day Moth in November 2006.

She is a member of the Huntly Writers and through the group has been involved in various poetry readings and performances.

Readers of last year's biog will be pleased to note that her dog has now stopped eating the house... (however she is having to get a new kitchen) ... and the grandchildren are doing fine.

Linda Smith

Born and brought up in Aberdeen, Linda Smith has been writing since she was ten, but it wasn't until she was in her forties that she found her Aiberdeen Doric voice and the stories flowed. Short stories and poetry found their way into Leopard and Pushing Out the Boat and at the launch of the issue three of Pushing Out the Boat she met Maureen and Margaret from Huntly Writers. With the support and encouragement of this formidable group, she has continued to contribute to local magazines, appeared in two Huntly Writers anthologies and performed at numerous events. In 2012 she won the Toulmin Prize for her short story The Last Een and in 2013 the Connon Caup for her poem Picts.

Linda writes all the time in her head, especially when she's out walking; or trying to keep up with her long-legged husband, Bill, on Scotland's beautiful hills.

Leon Stelmach

After an encouraging start at school where an inspirational teacher, Mr Grubb, praised an essay creative writing was abandoned to the more mundane business reports and plans.
Now retired, the support of Huntly Writers has encouraged a return to the pen, or more realistically the keyboard. The Writers have a created a fertile and encouraging environment for both poetry and prose.
The Woman from the Ministry is now finished. It is still in need of some severe editing and proofreading but is a novel still a novel if it has not been published?

Fiona Wilson

Born in England in 1949, to an English mother and Scots father, I grew up with a romantic view of Scotland and moved here in 1972. During a brief academic career I got involved with an agriculture student and ended up as a farmer's wife on a small farm in the Aberdeenshire hills. To supplement the income I wrote articles for various papers and magazines on country matters.

After our two children left home we diversified into growing organic herbs and progressed onto producing jams and chutneys in partnership of our daughter and using vegetables grown for us by our son.

With more leisure I am learning to write poetry and short stories in an attempt to express things that non-fiction can't deal with.