Join us when we discuss this month's book selection with author Graeme Simsion.

Graeme Simsion

Graeme Simsion was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and moved to Melbourne at twelve. Though his school years were uneven, he surprised himself by topping English while otherwise gravitating toward science. He studied physics at Monash University alongside future Nobel Laureate David Karoly and briefly dreamed of becoming the next Einstein or Feynman. Instead, he began a career in computing, rising from computer operator to consultant and CEO of Simsion Bowles and Associates, growing the firm to seventy staff. Along the way, he completed an MBA and published Data Modeling Essentials (1993), which became a global bestseller in its field.

In 1998, inspired by Joe Queenan’s filmmaking memoir, Graeme ventured into screenwriting, even making a low-budget feature with friends and family. After selling his company in 2002, he pursued a PhD and later formal screenwriting studies at RMIT, where he developed a screenplay that would evolve through multiple drafts and titles before becoming The Rosie Project. Though the script won major awards, it remained unproduced. A serious health scare in 2010 led to time away, travel, and reflection—prompting Graeme to pivot toward fiction after realizing novels offered far greater opportunity than student screenplays.

He wrote The Rosie Project as a novel in weeks, won the 2012 Victorian Premier’s Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, and soon signed international publishing and film deals. The book became a global phenomenon, selling over seven million copies in forty-two languages and spawning two sequels, The Rosie Effect and The Rosie Result. Graeme went on to write The Best of Adam Sharp and, with his wife, psychiatrist Anne Buist, Two Steps Forward, both international bestsellers. While not autistic himself, he has been widely praised for Don Tillman’s voice and actively supports autistic communities through advocacy and speaking.

Now a full-time writer, Graeme continues to publish about a book a year and occasionally returns to screenwriting. His recent collaboration with Anne, the Menzies Mental Health series, began with The Glass House (2024), followed by The Oasis (2025). He lives in Melbourne with Anne and balances writing with travel, long walks, jogging—and a well-researched appreciation for wine and cocktails.

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