Margaret Simons (b 1960) is an Australian academic, freelance journalist and author. She is currently the media commentator for Crikey and has written ten books.
She is currently Director of the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the University of Melbourne.
Simons was a finalist for a Walkley Award for journalism in 2007 for the story Buried in the Labyrinth, about the release of a pedophile into the community, published in Griffith Review and her book The Content Makers – Understanding the Future of the Australian Media was longlisted for the 2008 non-fiction book Walkley award.
Simons also writes for The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Monthly. For many years, she wrote the “Earthmother” gardening column for The Australian.
Simons has a doctorate from the University of Technology, Sydney and was co-founder, with Melissa Sweet, of the community-funded news site YouComm News. She lives in Melbourne.
Books in order of publication:
The Ruthless Garden -1993
Wheelbarrows, Chooks & Children: A Gardener’s Life – 1999
The Meeting of the Waters: The Hindmarsh Island Affair – 2003
Resurrection in a Bucket: The Rich and Fertile Story of Compost – 2004
The Content Makers: Understanding The Media In Australia – 2007
Malcolm Fraser: The Political Memoirs – 2010
Journalism at the Crossroads – 2012
Kerry Stokes: Self-Made Man – 2013
Six Square Metres: Reflections from a Small Garden – 2015
Penny Wong, Passion and Principle – 2019
Oak Lawn Library Friends 