I am an award-winning British journalist and novelist. Currently Associate Editor at Daily Mail Online, I cover UK and European politics and major foreign stories.
Formerly I was a Features Writer at the Sunday Telegraph, and have worked as a freelancer for the Times, the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and others. I’ve also written for POLITICO, Newsweek, La Repubblica and other international publications.
In addition to breaking political exclusives, I report extensively from overseas. Recently I’ve covered the collapse of Venezuela, the migrant crisis in Greece, Macedonia and Sicily, the rise of the far-Right in Finland and Germany and the conflict in Syria. I’ve also been on the ground for all the recent terror attacks in Europe, including those in Stockholm, Istanbul, Berlin, Brussels, Nice and Paris, as well as Manchester and London.
While at the Sunday Telegraph, I wrote my most ambitious piece of journalism: Meet the Settlers, a smorgasbord of longform digital wizardry that won the European Newspapers award, was shortlisted for the British Press Award and honoured at the Webbys.
I have had a particular impact covering anti-Semitism in British politics. In 2015, I published a series of articles exposing Jeremy Corbyn’s links with anti-Semitic figures, and this led to what is now known as the ‘Labour anti-Semitism scandal’.
My job also involves shifts on the desk in which I lead the Daily Mail Online coverage, editing the homepage, writing headlines, overseeing pictures and taking charge of our entire output, especially our response to breaking news.
I’ve presented numerous radio documentaries for the BBC, and I’m a regular on Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent (see portfolio). I review the newspapers for Sky News, and have presented TV for BBC Breakfast and others (here is my TV showreel).
In addition, I’m a novelist. I’ve written four books, including the bestselling The English German Girl, which I completed while gaining a PhD in Creative Writing at UEA – where I studied after gaining a First in English at St Peter’s College, Oxford.
I’m Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University, and have lectured at Oxford and elsewhere.
Here is a selection of my favourite stories.
Includes clips from BBC Breakfast, Sky News, Fox News and Daily Mail Online.
First and foremost, I’m a writer. Over the years, I’ve written reportage, features, columns, blogs and reviews for all the UK’s broadsheets.
I’ve presented six docs for BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service, and appeared regularly on From Our Own Correspondent. I’ve presented TV for the BBC too.
Taking my own pictures makes me a more agile journalist. I also use a GoPro camera to capture dramatic footage that complements my stories.
I created an award-winning digital feature at the Telegraph, and I’m a senior editor at Daily Mail Online – the biggest newspaper website in the world.
‘THE ENGLISH GERMAN GIRL kept me up at night… Amazing’ –Guardian
‘THE ENGLISH GERMAN GIRL is fascinating and moving’ –Monica Ali
‘JAM is a skilful road rage novel that looks at Britain through a motorway microcosm… Wallis Simons is so good at the drama of car interiors’ –Telegraph
‘Jake Wallis Simons will surely prove a name to remember’ –Beryl Bainbridge
For enquiries concerning my novels, please contact my agent, Andrew Gordon at David Higham Associates. For anything else, please use the contact form below.