Graeme is a Scottish author whose debut novel, The Young Team, won the 2021 Betty Trask Award, the Somerset Maughan Award and was named ‘Scots Book of the Year’ in the Scots Language Awards.
In April 2023, he was included in literary magazine Granta’s 20-strong Best of Young (under 40) British Novelists.
As a teenager, Graeme was involved with gang culture and struggled with drug addiction, alcohol abuse and violence. However, he managed to break away from gang life and now hosts workshops about youth violence, substance abuse and gang culture in schools and prisons.
He has worked with various organisations involved in violence prevention and frequently speaks at conferences about education, gang violence and recovery from addiction and substance misuse.
Graeme wrote and starred in a short film for the Edinburgh International Book Festival and presented a documentary, Scotland the Rave, which was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland and Royal Television Society Scotland award.
He also wrote and presented a three-part BBC Scotland documentary series, Street Gangs, where he shares his lived experience as an ex-gang member. It explores current Scottish gang culture and tries to understand why young people are seduced by the perceived glamour and excitement of gang life.