Diana Simmonds

Diana Simmonds is an Australian journalist and arts critic, currently the editor and proprietor of Stagenoise.com.

Simmonds was born in London, England and moved with her family to Kenya. She moved to London in 1977 and wrote for various magazines including Time Out and was a founder member of the cooperative City Limits. In 1985 she moved to Sydney, Australia and wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Bulletin, The Australian and the Sunday Telegraph, where she was the arts editor. In 2008 she was appointed editor of SAM – Sydney Alumni Magazine for the University of Sydney. In 2015 she became a full time freelance writer. She has also written several novels and non-fiction books, including one on Princess Diana and one on Doris Day, and continues to write as a freelance journalist and commentator.

In 2008 she co-founded the Sydney Theatre Reviewers whose remit is the annual awards to theatre practitioners in Sydney. She resigned from the organization in 2020. She began working with brothers Damian and Tim Madden in 2011 to create Stagenoise, an Australian arts review site. The Maddens left to pursue other interests in 2013 and Diana continues to run the site solo. It is Sydney's longest-running theatre review site.

In 2010 Diana joined Gaz Simpson as co-host of Arts Tuesday on Eastside Radio 89.7fm. She took over on his retirement in 2021 with new co-host Suzi Whitehead Pope. The show covers the spectrum of live arts in Sydney with interviews, reviews, news, and music.

In 2020 Diana became a Trustee of the Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award. In 2022 she took over as Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Books

 * Silver Lining (romance novel): Bella Books, 2013. ISBN 978-1-59493-206-9
 * To Hell in a Handcart: A Rollercoaster Ride Through the Psyche of Modern Australia : Hachette Livre, 2005. ISBN 0-7336-1012-9
 * Diana the Hunted: A Modern Media Tragedy : Pluto Press, 2004. ISBN 1-86403-043-7
 * Squidgie Dearest: The Making of a Media Goddess Australia's Love Affair with Princess Diana : Pluto Press, 2002. ISBN 1-86403-022-4
 * Forty Love (romance novel): Naiad Press, 1997. ISBN 1-59493-190-9
 * Heart on Fire (romance novel): Naiad Press, 1996. ISBN 1-56280-152-X
 * ''Being Whitefella, ed. Duncan Graham (Fremantle 1994, ISBN 978-1-86368-080-6) "Sixteen 'whitefellas' explore their relationship with Aboriginal Australia" – including Bruce Petty, Fred Chaney, Ted Egan, Kim Beazley, Veronica Brady, Robert Juniper and Judith Wright.
 * A Star is Torn (about musical theatre production of the same name) (with Robyn Archer): Virago, 1986. ISBN 0-86068-514-4
 * "Princess Di the National Dish - the making of a Media Superstar": Pluto Press, 1984. ISBN 978-0-86104-656-0

Other works

 * "https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1492165/ALUM3340_GradLife_Summer_v08_web2.pdf" page 26