Conceived in Hungary, born in England and raised in Australia, James has been a staff writer at The Australian on and off since 1998. He has been a regular traveller for years, and keeps gravitating to Hungary, Russia, the Australian outback, and the glorious cake mile of Acland Street, St Kilda. He has spent time living, loafing, occasionally writing and profitably busking in Hungary and Ireland, as well as spending an exhausting, bewildering, brilliant year working in the improbable post of deputy business editor of The Moscow Times. James holds an honours degree in Russian studies from UNSW. This is his first book. He lives in Sydney with his wife Annabel and their two children.