Graeme Johnstone

GRAEME JOHNSTONE had a long and successful career in journalism before moving into the more creative world of writing novels and musicals.

He gained an all-round grounding on a ‘local rag' in rural Australia before moving to Melbourne and working on business and suburban press. He was then based in London as Editor of the 'Australasian Express'. In 1978, he joined Australia’s biggest selling newspaper, the 'Herald Sun' in Melbourne, and is best known for his seven year stint writing its popular daily column, 'A Place In The Sun', catching the vibe of the city and variously amusing, entertaining and occasionally outraging more than a million readers over breakfast every morning.

After a stint as Editor of 'Australasian Post', Graeme and his wife Elsie established their own business as The Wordsmiths, writing material for commercial, corporate and personal clients. Out of this came his first novel, 'The Playmakers', based on the theory that the Bard did not write the plays ascribed to him. A second novel, 'Lover, Husband, Father, Monster', co-written with Elsie when they lived in Ireland in 2009, followed.

Always interested in the musical as one of the great expressions of entertainment, his first major work, 'Normie', based on the 1960s experiences of Australia’s King of Pop, Normie Rowe, will be premiered in November 2012.