Geoffrey Atherden is a lapsed architect who launched himself slowly into a writing career back in the days of the Architecture Reviews at Sydney University. He practised architecture for many years, and during that time he was a major contributing writer for the first series of The Aunty Jack Show.

He is best known for his television series Mother and Son and has won numerous awards for it as well as for other television work, including Eggshells, One Day Miller and a United Nations Media Peace Prize for Babakiueria. His first play, Hotspur, commissioned by the Melbourne Theatre Company, played successful seasons in Melbourne and Sydney in 1994.

Geoffrey is an occasional contributor to a number of magazines and collections of short stories.

He is a member of the Board of the New South Wales Film and Television Office and was president of the Australian Writers Guild from 1994 to 1998.