Simon Lewis (born 1971) is a Welsh novelist and screenwriter, born in Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1971. He went to school in Monmouth, then studied Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College in London.After graduation, he travelled extensively in Asia, before beginning work as a travel writer for Rough Guides publishing. He has since worked on five editions of the Rough Guide to China and is sole author of the Rough Guide to Shanghai and the Rough Guide to Beijing. Simon was selected as one of 21 "writers to watch" at the 2008 the Guardian Hay Festival.