Dr Anne MacLeod
Author and poet, Anne Colleen MacLeod (born in Aberfeldy 1951) graduated MBChB (1975). MacLeod was a respected dermatologist for many years, but she is known to a different audience as a writer. As a medic, she was instrumental in ensuring the beneficial Medical Humanities component was within the curriculum of Aberdeen’s undergraduate medical degree.
MacLeod was Associate Specialist in Dermatology at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, for 25 years. She initially completed vocational training for General Practice. From July 2005, MacLeod worked as part-time Associate Specialist in Dermatology at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and retired from medical practice in 2011. Before retirement, she regularly worked with doctors in training in hospitals and General Practice in Inverness and Aberdeen.
In her demanding life as wife, mother, and doctor, MacLeod still found time to craft poetry and prose. Her debut novel "The Dark Ship" recalls the unspeakable tragedy of the sinking of the Iolaire in 1919. She continues to participate in workshops, encouraging people of all ages, whereby she shares her love of literature and encourages others to unleash their creativity.
Several of her short stories and poems have been widely published in literary magazines, including "Standing by Thistles" (1997; shortlisted for Saltire Award) and "The Blue Moon Book" (2004). MacLeod contributed to the International Oxford Radcliffe Medical Humanities Companion series from 2008–14. She has been among the Scottish Book Trust Live Literature Authors list for many years, leading workshops in writing and storytelling for children and adults across Scotland. From 2013, she has been a board member for Scotland’s Creative Writers’ Centre –– Moniack Mhor. A series of workshops on Memories of Place (September 2019–January 2020) was a collaborative project for Highland Hospice patients and staff from Wick to Portree. She served on the board of the Scottish Poetry Library for 2002–06.
Biography prepared from the nomination made to the University of Aberdeen 525 Alumni project.