John Birmingham is an Australian author, born in Ipswich, Queensland in 1964. He is most well known for two books. He Died With a Felafel in his Hand, a highly humourous insight into years of share house accommodation and Leviathan, a fascinating and deeply researched history of the seedier side of Sydney.
Melbourne's daily broadsheet, The Age commented "If Sydney really were a living thing, it could sue for defamation".
Aside from books, he also writes articles for newspapers and magazines, including the Sydney Morning Herald, the Age, Penthouse, Playboy, Rolling Stone and apparently, also for the Long Bay Prison News. Awards won by Birmingham include the George Munster Prize for Freelance Story of the Year and the Carlton United Sports Writing Prize
Books published to date are;
He Died with a Felafel in his Hand 1994 (Adapted as a feature film by Richard Lowenstein and starring Noah Taylor)
The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco 1997
How to Be a Man 1998, co-written with Dirk Flinthart
The Search for Savage Henry, under the pseudonym of Commander Harrison Biscuit
Leviathan 1999