Silvester received a Bachelor of Arts in politics and legal studies at
La Trobe University in 1978, according to an article in the university's Alumni newsletter,
Agora, which also stated that his father, Fred Silvester, was a former
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner, and head of the
Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence. In 2007, Silvester won the Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year for his work covering crime and corruption. According to his profile at The Age: John Silvester has been a crime reporter in Melbourne since 1979, moving to The Age in 1993. He has worked with The Sunday Times insight team in London, won an ASEAN-AJA scholarship to study crime and corruption in South East Asia and has given evidence at Royal Commissions on police corruption. Silvester has published more than 30 crime books that have sold more than one million copies. He has won three Walkley awards, six
Victorian Press Club Quills, a
Ned Kelly award for true crime writing, a Ned Kelly lifetime achievement award and nine Victorian Law awards. He has been judged the
Graham Perkin Australian Journalist of the Year and has twice been commended in the same award. He appears regularly on radio station 3AW to discuss crime matters. He has contributed to several ABC crime documentaries including Terry Carlyon's 2015 two-part documentary on police shootings –
Trigger Point. Silvester writes "the Naked City", an award-winning weekly crime column in
The Saturday Age. John hosts a true crime podcast, The Naked City. == Personal life ==