Alan Whiticker

Alan James Whiticker (born 1958) is an Australian non-fiction author and publisher, with over 50 published books on history, sport, biography, true crime and lifestyle.

Whiticker writes primarily on matters pertaining to the history of the sport of rugby league in Australia, but he has also published works on subjects as diverse as classical film, pop culture, the Wanda Beach Murders and an adaptation of Homer's ''Iliad''. He is a former teacher and commissioning editor for a publishing company but now works as a freelance writer.

Early life and education

Whiticker was born in Penrith, New South Wales on 15 December 1958. He attended St Dominic's College, Penrith and Nepean College of Advanced Education (now Western Sydney University), where he obtained a Diploma of Teaching in 1979 and a Bachelor of Education (Primary) degree in 1985. He later obtained his master's degree in Education (Administration) in 1997. Before writing full-time, he worked as a primary school teacher and assistant principal at Catholic schools in Western Sydney for 30 years, and lectured at Western Sydney University in 2008.

Rugby league works

* ''The History of the Balmain Tigers'', Sherborne Sutherland Publishing, 1988
* ''The History of The North Sydney Bears'' (with Greg Anderson), Sherborne Sutherland Publishing, 1988
* ''Grand Finals of the New South Wales Rugby League'', Gary Allen, 1992
* ''The Terry Lamb Story'', Gary Allen, 1992
* ''Rugby League Test Matches in Australia'' (with Ian Collis), Sydney: ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1994
* ''From the Bush to Brookvale: The Cliff Lyons story'', Gary Allen, 2000
* ''Hooked on League: Royce Simmons'', Gary Allen, 2001
* ''Mat Rogers: Off The Wing On A Prayer'' (with Mat Rogers), ESM Sports, 2002
* ''The History of Rugby League Clubs'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2004
* ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland Publishers, 2004
* ''100 Years of Rugby League'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2007
* ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'' (with Glen Hudson, 6th Edition), Gary Allen, 2007
* ''Rugby League: 100 Years in Pictures'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2008
* ''The Top 10 of Rugby League'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2010
* ''Rugby League Through the Decades'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2011
* ''Glory Days: The Story of South Sydney's Golden Era'', New Holland Publishers, 2011
* ''101 Great Rugby League Players'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2012
* ''Rugby League: Every Premiership Match'' (with Ian Collis), New Holland Publishers, 2013
* ''Mud, Blood and Beer: Rugby League in the 1970s'', New Holland Publishers, 2016
* ''The State of Origin Companion: Interstate Rugby League Since 1908'', New Holland Publishers, 2020
* ''League on Sunday, Work on Monday'' (with Tony Loxley and Ian Collis), Full Throttle Publishing, 2020
* ''Very Tough Men: Rugby League in the 1980s'' (with Tony Loxley), Full Throttle Publishing, 2021
* ''Tommy: The Extraordinary Career of Tommy Raudonikis'', New Holland Publishers, 2021
* ''The Blues: NSW's State of Origin Heroes'', Gelding Street Press, 2024
* ''Rugby League in the 1980s: The Power and the Passion'' (with Ian Collis), Gelding Street Press, 2024

True crime

* ''Wanda: The Untold Story of the Wanda Beach Murders'', New Holland Publishers, 2003
* ''Twelve Crimes That Shocked The Nation'', New Holland Publishers, 2005
* ''Searching for the Beaumont Children: Australia's Most Famous Unsolved Mystery'', John Wiley & Sons Australia, 2006
* ''Crimes of the Century'', New Holland Publishers, 2006
* ''Another 12 Crimes that Shocked the Nation'', New Holland Publishers, 2007
* '' Derek Percy: Australian Psycho'', New Holland Publishers, 2008
* ''Unsolved Crimes: The cases that haunt Australia'', New Holland Publishers, 2009
* ''The Satin Man: uncovering the mystery of the missing Beaumont children'' (with Stuart Mullins), New Holland Publishers, 2013
* ''I Survived Kerobokan'' (with Paul Conibeer), New Holland Publishers, 2014,
* ''Anita Cobby: The Crime that Shocked the Nation'', New Holland Publishers, 2015

Other works

*''Jimmy Barnes: Say It Loud'' (with Jimmy Barnes), Gary Allen, 2002
*''The Battle of Troy: an Adaptation of Homer's Iliad'', illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, New Holland Publishers, 2004
*''Speeches That Shaped the Modern World'', New Holland Publishers, 2005
*''Speeches That Reshaped the Modern World'', New Holland Publishers, 2008
*''Shannon Noll: So Far'', New Holland Publishers, 2012
*''The Way We Were'', New Holland Publishers, 2013
*''British Pop Invasion'', New Holland Publishers, 2014
*''Retro New York'', New Holland Publishers, 2015
*''Speeches That Defined the World'', New Holland Publishers, 2016
*''The Classics: The Greatest Films of the 20th Century'', New Holland Publishers, 2016
*''Classic Albums That Changed My Life: The Vinyl That Made A Generation'', New Holland Publishers, 2018
*''Don't Die Wondering: the Pat Webster Story'', New Holland Publishers, 2019
*''The Immortals of Australian Horse Racing'', Gelding Street Press, 2021
*''Legends of the Track: Australia's Champion Jockey and Trainers'', Gelding Street Press, 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiticker, Alan
1958 births
Australian non-fiction writers
Living people
Australian Catholic University alumni
Australian non-fiction crime writers
People educated at St Dominic's College, Penrith
Australian schoolteachers
writers from Sydney