Jill Sparrow has been active as a socialist in Melbourne since 1991. She helped organise protests against the Gulf War and was involved in free education campaigns throughout the early 1990s, as well as participating in nearly every left-wing political cause over the past decade (including her own defence campaign as one of the Austudy Five!). In between this, she studied Arts at Melbourne Uni, played in a band and travelled overseas.

She has written for numerous student/union/socialist publications, but Radical Melbourne: A Secret History is her first book.