John Birmingham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Birmingham
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Birmingham at the Javits Exhibition Center in February 2009, attending the New York Comic Con.
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| Born | 7 August 1964 Liverpool, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Writer, author |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland |
| Genre | Non-fiction, military science fiction, alternative history, urban fantasy |
| Years active | 1994–present |
John Birmingham was born on August 7, 1964. He is an author from Australia. John is famous for his book He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. He also wrote the exciting Axis of Time series. Another popular series is his space adventure, the Cruel Stars trilogy.
Contents
Early Life and School
John Birmingham was born in Liverpool, United Kingdom. He moved to Ipswich, Queensland, Australia with his parents in 1970. He grew up there.
He went to Saint Edmund's College in Ipswich. Later, he studied at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. For a short time, he worked as a researcher. This was for the Australian Department of Defence. He also worked for the TV show A Current Affair.
Becoming a Writer
John Birmingham went back to Queensland to study law. But he decided to become a writer instead. He has a degree in international relations. Today, he lives in Brisbane.
First Stories and Books
John's first stories were in Semper Floreat. This was the student newspaper at the University of Queensland. He wrote about a funny character named Commander Harrison Biscuit.
His first paid work was in a student magazine. He won an award for young writers. He also wrote articles for Rolling Stone magazine.
In 1994, John released He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. This book is about living in a shared house. It became a play, a movie, and a graphic novel. Its follow-up book was The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco. This play ran for a very long time in Australia.
Other Cool Books
John also wrote The Search for Savage Henry. This is a crime novel with Harrison Biscuit. How To Be A Man is a funny guide for Australian guys.
He spent four years researching the history of Sydney. This research became the book Leviathan: the unauthorised biography of Sydney. It won a big award in Australia in 2002. A play based on Leviathan was made in 2010.
John has written for important magazines. These include Quarterly Essays and The Monthly.
In 2015, John started publishing his own books. This was a new way for him to share his stories. He published three novellas called Stalin's Hammer. He also released a new novel, A Girl in Time.
Axis of Time Series
In 2004, John published Weapons of Choice. This was the first book in his Axis of Time series. It's an alternative history story. This means it imagines what would happen if history changed.
The series is about a peacekeeping force from the future. They are sent back in time to 1942. Their arrival completely changes World War II. Many famous writers appear as small characters.
The second book, Designated Targets, came out in 2005. The third book, Final Impact, was released in 2006.
Later, John wrote more stories in this world. These included the novellas Stalin's Hammer: Rome, Cairo, and Paris. These stories take place in an alternate 1954.
In 2023, World War 3.1 was released. It continues the story from Stalin's Hammer. It describes the start of a big war in Western Europe.
Disappearance Series
Without Warning was released in 2008. This book starts a new story world. It imagines what would happen if most of the United States' population disappeared. This happens because of a strange energy field.
The book explores what happens to the world without its only superpower. After America was the second book. It came out in 2010. The third book, Angels of Vengeance, was released in 2011.
The Cruel Stars Trilogy
This is a cool space opera series. The first book, The Cruel Stars, was published in 2019. The second book, The Shattered Skies, came out in 2022. The third book in the series, The Forever Dead, is planned for the future.
Awards and Recognition
Designated Targets was a finalist for the 2005 Aurealis Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. This is a big award for science fiction books.
The Shattered Skies was nominated for a Dragon Award in 2022. It was for the Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel.
Selected Works
Non-fiction Books
- He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (1994)
- The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco (1998)
- Leviathan: The Un-authorised Biography of Sydney (1999)
- How to be a Man (2000)
- Appeasing Jakarta: Australia's complicity in the East Timor Tragedy (2001)
- A Time for War: Australia as a Military Power (2005)
- How to be a Writer: who smashes deadlines, crushes editors and lives in a solid gold hovercraft (2016)
- Stranger Thingies: From Felafel to Now (2018)
- On Father (2019)
Fiction Books
Axis of Time Series
- Weapons of Choice (2004)
- Designated Targets (2005)
- Final Impact (2006)
- Stalin's Hammer: Rome (2012), a shorter novel
- Stalin's Hammer: Cairo (2016), ebook only
- Stalin's Hammer: Paris (2016), ebook only
- Stalin's Hammer: The Complete Sequence (2017), all three shorter novels together
- World War 3.1 (2023)
The Disappearance Series
- Without Warning (2008)
- After America (2010)
- Angels of Vengeance (2011)
The David Hooper Trilogy
- Emergence (2015)
- Resistance (2015)
- Ascendance (2015)
- The Protocol for Monsters (2016), ebook only
- Soul Full of Guns (2016), ebook only
A Girl in Time Series
- A Girl in Time (2016)
- The Golden Minute – A Girl in Time Novel (2018)
End of Days Series
- Zero Day Code (2019)
- Fail State (2019)
- American Kill Switch (2021)
The Cruel Stars Series
- Novels:
- The Cruel Stars (2019)
- The Shattered Skies (January 2022)
- The Javan War (September 2024), with Jason Lambright
- The Forever Dead (To Be Decided)
- Short stories:
- Parade Rest (August 2022) – A free short story about Lucinda Hardy as a cadet.
Other Novels
- Sleeper Agent (February 2024)
Short Stories
- Fortune and Glory (2015), in The Change: Tales of Downfall and Rebirth
- The Finishers (November 2023), free short story
See also
- The Final Countdown (film)
- Worldwar
