Born in Irvine, Ayrshire, Niven read English literature at the University of Glasgow, graduating in 1991 with First Class honours. For the next ten years, he worked for a variety of record companies, including London Records and Independiente. He left the music industry to write full-time in 2002 and published Music from Big Pink, a book about The Band’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.

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 and Muse. The novel was published by William Heinemann 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),^[1] No Good Deed (2017) and Kill 'em All (2018).^[2]

He also writes original screenplays with writing partner Nick Ball, the younger brother of British TV presenter Zoë Ball. His journalistic contributions to newspapers and magazines include a monthly column for Q magazine, entitled "London Kills Me". In 2009 Niven wrote a controversial article for The Independent newspaper where he attacked the media's largely complacent coverage of Michael Jackson's death.^[3]

In 2005 he co-wrote the lyrics of two songs on James Dean Bradfield's album The Great Western.^[4]

Niven co-wrote the screenplay How to Build a Girl, opposite Caitlin Moran, based upon her novel of the same name, directed by Coky Giedroyc.^[5]

Niven contributes regularly to Noble Rot Magazine, an independent publication about wine and food, and the Daily Record.^[6]

An atheist and a republican, Niven refuses to sing "God Save the Queen" on ideological grounds.^{[citation needed]}

• 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, ISBN 978-0434023295)
• Kill 'Em All — sequel to Kill Your Friends (2018, ISBN 978-1785151576)
• The F*ck-it List (2020, ISBN 978-0434023264)^[7]
• O Brother (2023)

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

• 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