John Niven (born 1966) is a Scottish author and screenwriter. His books include '' Kill Your Friends'', ''The Amateurs'', and ''The Second Coming''.

Career

Born in

Irvine, Ayrshire Irvine ( ;
; ) is a town and former royal burgh on th ...

, Niven read

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, graduating in 1991 with First Class honours. For the next ten years, he worked for a variety of record companies, including

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

and Independiente. He left the music industry to write full-time in 2002 and published ''Music from Big Pink'', a book about

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

’s album of the same name, in 2005 (Continuum Press). The book was optioned for the screen by CC Films with a script written by English playwright

Jez Butterworth Jeremy Butterworth (born March 4, 1969) is a British playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He has gained recognition for his unique voice in contemporary theater, often blending themes of myth, folklore, and realism. He has received a T ...

. Niven's breakthrough novel ''Kill Your Friends'' is a satire of the music business, based on his brief career in A&R, during which he passed up the chance to sign

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

and

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

. The novel was published by

William Heinemann William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London. Early life On 18 May 1863, William Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, Englan ...

in 2008 to much acclaim, with ''The Word'' magazine describing it as "possibly the best British Novel since Trainspotting". It has been translated into seven languages and was a bestseller in Britain and Germany. Niven has since published ''The Amateurs'' (2009), ''The Second Coming'' (2011), ''Cold Hands'' (2012), ''Straight White Male'' (2013), ''The Sunshine Cruise Company'' (2015), ''No Good Deed'' (2017) and ''Kill 'em All'' (2018). He also writes original screenplays with writing partner Nick Ball, the younger brother of British TV presenter

Zoë Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...

. His journalistic contributions to newspapers and magazines include a monthly column for ''

Q magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'', entitled "London Kills Me". In 2009 Niven wrote a controversial article for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' newspaper where he attacked the media's largely complacent coverage of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

's death. In 2005 he co-wrote the lyrics of two songs on

James Dean Bradfield James Dean Bradfield (born 21 February 1969) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is known for being the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Welsh alternative rock band Manic Street Preachers. His cousin Sean Moore is a ...

's album '' The Great Western''. Niven co-wrote the screenplay '' How to Build a Girl,'' opposite

Caitlin Moran Catherine Elizabeth Moran ( ; born 5 April 1975) is an English journalist, broadcaster, and author at ''The Times'', where she writes two columns a week: one for the Saturday Magazine, and the satirical Friday column "Celebrity Watch". Moran w ...

, based upon her novel of the same name, directed by

Coky Giedroyc Mary Rose Helen "Coky" Giedroyc (; born 6 February 1963) is an English director known for her work on '' Women Talking Dirty'', '' The Virgin Queen'', '' The Nativity'', and ''Penny Dreadful''. Early life Giedroyc was born in Kowloon on 6 Febru ...

. Niven contributes regularly to ''

Noble Rot Magazine A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Grea ...

'', an independent publication about wine and food, and the ''Daily Record''. An

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

and a republican, Niven refuses to sing "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is '' de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and ...

" on ideological grounds. Niven's debut play, ''The Battle'', a comedy about the rivalry between English rock bands

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentBlur will open at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in February 2026 before touring the UK.

Bibliography

* ''Music from Big Pink: A Novella (33 1/3)'' (2005) * '' ''Kill Your Friends'''' (2008) * ''The Amateurs'' (2009) * ''The Second Coming'' (2011) * ''Cold Hands'' (2012) * ''Straight White Male'' (2013) * ''The Sunshine Cruise Company'' (2015) * ''No Good Deed'' (2017, ) * ''Kill 'Em All'' — sequel to ''Kill Your Friends'' (2018, ) * ''The F*ck-it List'' (2020, ) * ''O Brother'' (2023)

Filmography

* The Trip (2021) - Writer * '' How to Build a Girl'' - Screenwriter * ''Superviszed'' (2018) - Screenwriter * '' Kill Your Friends'' (2015) - Screenwriter * '' Cat Run'' (2011) - Screenwriter

Plays

* ''The Battle'' (2026)

References

External links

Author page on Penguin
* https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/kill-your-friends-by-john-niven-780982.html * https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jan/31/kill-your-friends-review
Interview in Shotsmag Ezine July 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niven, John 1968 births Living people 21st-century Scottish novelists Scottish screenwriters Scottish male novelists Alumni of the University of Glasgow 21st-century British male writers Scottish atheists 21st-century British screenwriters People from Irvine, North Ayrshire Scottish republicans