David has written or co-written five narrative nonfiction books, including most recently How to Dress for Old Age (2026), a braided memoir with Peta Murray. His essays have appeared in Overland, Meanjin, Griffith REVIEW, Hunger Mountain, TEXT Journal, Westerly and Sydney Review of Books.
David trained as a theatre director at Flinders University Drama Centre, before completing a postgraduate diploma in narrative film at the Victorian College of the Arts and a PhD in creative writing at the University of Melbourne. He co-founded Red Shed Theatre and has worked as a director and/or writer for Melbourne Workers Theatre, Arena Theatre, Circus Oz, ABC Radio National and SBS Television.
As an academic at RMIT University, he co-founded both the non/fictionLab Research Group, and WrICE (Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange), a program of peer-to-peer cultural exchange bringing together writers from across the Asia Pacific. David’s work has been recognised with multiple awards and grants, including as Lead CI on two Australian Research Council (ARC) project grant awards, for the Circus Oz Living Archive and Connecting Asia-Pacific Literary Cultures projects.
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.
Learn more about our commitment to Indigenous cultures
