Catherine Simpson
Memoirist, Novelist
About
Catherine Simpson is a memoirist and novelist whose work dissects family life, exploring themes of mental and physical ill health, life in a female body, family suicide and autism.
Her memoir When I Had a Little Sister: The Story of a Farming Family Who Never Spoke (4th Estate, 2019) was described as ‘superb’, (Sunday Times), ‘riveting’ (Observer) and ‘a study in gender oppression’ (TLS) and was featured on BBC Radio’s Woman’s Hour. Her second memoir One Body: A Retrospective (Saraband, 2022) was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Non-fiction Book of the Year and selected for World Book Night. Her novel Truestory won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers award and was inspired by Catherine’s experience of raising her autistic daughter, Nina, which was also the subject of her memoir Hold Fast: Motherhood, My Autistic Daughter and Me.
In 2021, Catherine wrote and performed a monologue, Driving Dad to the Old Folks’ Home, on BBC Radio 4, which was chosen for Pick of the Week. Although her work covers serious subjects, she blends the light and the dark, weaving in humour and a sense of the absurdity of life.
Catherine teaches memoir writing and has mentored writers for the Scottish Book Trust and New Writing North. She enjoys encouraging people to tell their own stories and helping them clarify their thoughts and hence their writing.
She has twice been a judge for the Saltire Book awards. Catherine has two adult daughters and lives in Edinburgh with her husband of 32 years.