International Best-Selling Author Visits Maplewood

Graeme Simsion, author of the international and national bestseller “The Rosie Project” held a speaking engagement and book signing, Wednesday at Words Bookstore in Maplewood.

Simsion told the audience about himself and his experiences which inspired him to write the international best-seller.

The Rosie Project, he said, was initially a short story based on people he knew, which was then converted into a screenplay. Ultimately, only a few key characters and themes made it from the screenplay to the book.

“Deep down I always wanted to write a book and screenplay was second best for me,” he said. “It was the thing I discovered I could do but I, like so many people wanted to write a novel.”

The book is currently a bestseller in multiple countries, and will be published in 40 countries over the course of the year. The film rights have been sold to Sony Pictures with Simsion attached as the screenwriter.

According to publisher Simon & Schuster:

“His main character, Don, is a brilliant member of academia and rigidly committed to his structured schedule, he speaks without a filter, and interprets other people’s statements in the most literal manner. He can count all of his friends on one hand, is convinced that he’s not wired for romance, but decides that, statistically speaking, there’s likely a match for him out there. So, he decides to design a 16-page questionnaire to find the perfect mate: someone logical, punctual, and willing to eat lobster every Tuesday night. When Don meets the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie, you can imagine that, on paper at least, she doesn’t make the cut.”