Biography

Hailing from Inverness, David is a writer of determination and distinction.

Moving from the Highlands to Glasgow in 2012, David applied for the HNC Professional Writing Skills course at City of Glasgow College.  Despite his lack of prerequisite qualifications, David’s impressive portfolio earned him a place on the course.

Having already self-published two books of poetry, David completed a third during his time on the course. He also performed a daring and spontaneous piece at the Creative & Cultural Skills Scotland annual conference, and won the class prize – awarded annually to the most outstanding student.

David went on to take an HNC Practical Journalism course in 2014 and was equally successful, contributing several pieces to publications and impressing with his versatility. In the meantime he continued to develop his career as a writer of prose and poetry, and was published in several respected poetry outlets.

David is an extremely capable journalist and an excellent prose writer, but it is his poetry that stands out. He creates work that rises above his peers and demands to be noticed.  In 2015, his prodigious talent was recognised by the University of Glasgow, who offered him an unconditional place on their illustrious M.Lit course, even without a degree level qualification.

David’s work has been published in Glasgow Review of Books, The Grind, ODOU, The High Flight and The Speculative Bookshop, amongst others. In 2016 he was shortlisted for a Scottish Book Trust’s New Writers Award. 

“His poetry is sometimes rustic but never twee, youthful and contemporary without being naïve or following trends, and most of all extremely evocative.” John Clarke, Lecturer, City of Glasgow College.

How the Award Helped