About

David McDonald is a mild mannered editor by day, and a wild eyed writer by night. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he works for an international welfare organisation, and divides his spare time between playing cricket and writing.

In 2013 he won the Ditmar Award for Best New Talent, and in 2014 won the William J. Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review and was shortlisted for the WSFA Small Press Award. His short fiction has appeared in anthologies from publishers such as Moonstone Books, Crazy 8 Press and Fablecroft Publishing. In 2015, his first movie novelisation, Backcountry, was released by Harper Collins, and his first Marvel novel—Guardians of the Galaxy:Castaways—was published in August 2016.

David is a member of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.

David McDonald

Professional Affiliations

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America – Active Member
The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers
Horror Writers Association – Active Member

Awards, Achievements and Recognition

2017: Ditmar Award – Best Fan Publication in Any Medium (winner):
2016 Australian SF Snapshot (Greg Chapman, Tehani Croft, Tsana Dolichva, Marisol Dunham, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Stephanie Gunn, Ju Landéesse, DM, Belle McQuattie, Matthew Morrison, Alex Pierce, Rivqa Rafael, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Helen Stubbs, Katharine Stubbs and Matthew Summers).

2017: Ditmar Award – Best Fan Publication in Any Medium (nomination):
(Sean Wright, Helen Stubbs, DM, Alexandra Pierce, Sarah Parker, and Mark Webb) for the Galactic Chat Podcast

2017: Tin Duck Award – Best WA Production (winner):
2016 Australian SF Snapshot (Greg Chapman, Tehani Croft, Tsana Dolichva, Marisol Dunham, Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Stephanie Gunn, Ju Landéesse, DM, Belle McQuattie, Matthew Morrison, Alex Pierce, Rivqa Rafael, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Helen Stubbs, Katharine Stubbs and Matthew Summers).

2016: Scribe Award – Adapted Novel – General and Speculative category (nomination)
Backcountry

2016: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (nomination)
(DM, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series

2016: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (nomination)
(DM & Tehani Wessely) for the “Squeeing over Supergirl” series

2015: FFANZ Delegate – Reconnaissance: The 36th New Zealand National SFF&H Convention.

2015: Scribe Awards Judge – Young Adult

2015: Ditmar Award – Best Fan Publication in Any Medium (nomination)
Snapshot 2014 (Tsana Dolichva, Nick Evans, Stephanie Gunn, Kathryn Linge, Elanor Matton-Johnson, DM, Helen Merrick, Jason Nahrung, Ben Payne, Alex Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Helen Stubbs, Katharine Stubbs, Tehani Wessely, and Sean Wright).

2015: Ditmar Award – Best Fan Publication in Any Medium (nomination)
(Sean Wright, Helen Stubbs, DM, Alexandra Pierce, Sarah Parker, and Mark Webb) for the Galactic Chat Podcast

2015: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (nomination)
(DM, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series

2014: WSFA Small Press Award (shortlist)
“Set Your Face Towards the Darkness”, published in Tales of Australia: Great Southern Land, edited by Stephen C. Ormsby and Ellen Mae Franklin (Satalyte Publishing, December 2013)

2014: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (winner)
(DM, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series

2014: Ditmar Award – Best Fan Publication in Any Medium (winner)
(Sean Wright, Alex Pierce, Helen Stubbs, DM, and Mark Webb) for the Galactic Chat Podcast

2014: Scribe Awards Judge – Audio

2014: Committee Member – Conflux 10: Journeys of Discovery

2014: Committee Member – Continuum 10: Carnival of Lost Souls

2014: Aurealis Awards Judge – Anthologies and Collections

2013: Committee Member – Continuum 9: Contraindicators

2013: Chronos Award – Best Fan Written Work (winner)
(DM, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series

2013: Chronos Award – Best Achievement (nomination)
Snapshot 2012 (by Alisa Krasnostein, Kathryn Linge, DM, Helen Merrick, Ian Mond, Jason Nahrung, Alexandra Pierce,Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sean Wright).

2013: Ditmar Award – Best New Talent (winner)

2013: Ditmar Award – Best Fan Publication in Any Medium (nomination)
Snapshot 2012 (Alisa Krasnostein, Kathryn Linge, DM, Helen Merrick, Ian Mond, Jason Nahrung, Alexandra Pierce, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Sean Wright).

2013: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (nomination)
(Alisa Krasnostein, Kathryn Linge, DM & Tehani Wessely) for review of Mira Grant’s Newsflesh Trilogy (Australian Speculative Fiction in Focus)

2013: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (nomination)
(DM, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely) for the “New Who in Conversation” series

2012: Ditmar Award – William Atheling Jr. Award for Criticism or Review (nomination)
(DM, Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely) for the “Reviewing New Who” series