David James Parr

David James Parr was born on a cul-de-sac in central Ohio and grew up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, where he learned how to spell "cul-de-sac" and how to mispronounce "rural", respectively. He started writing short stories at an early age and majored in creative writing at The Ohio State University. He is the author of the novels VIOLET PEAKS, BEAUTY MARKS, MEN IN SHORTS, and THE THING WITH ANNIE, as well as the collections HOW TO SURVIVE OVERWHELMING LOSS & LONELINESS IN 5 EASY STEPS: STORIES and PERSONAL TRAINING: POETRY & EXERCISE TIPS. His episodic novel DARK & STORMY debuted on Kindle Vella in July 2022 with new episodes released every week. Go to Kindle Vella on Amazon and Follow.

David's eponymous story HOW TO SURVIVE OVERWHELMING LOSS & LONELINESS IN FIVE EASY STEPS was chosen by author Michael Cunningham as one of the Top 10 stories in The Tennessee Williams Fiction contest, and is included in The Best Gay Stories of 2017 anthology edited by Joe Okonkwo (JAZZ MOON). David's short story MATA HARI was selected in 2015 as one of the winners of The Tennessee Williams Fiction contest, and is included in VIOLET PEAKS. His work has also appeared on Creative Pois-On's Storytelier site, as well as in the magazines THE JOURNAL and FEMINISMS.

His play MIMI AT THE 44TH PARALLEL was a Semifinalist in the Playwriting Competition at the 2019 Austin Film Festival, placing in the Top 10. His play SLAP & TICKLE has been produced all over the U.S. including New York, Chicago, St. Petersburg (Florida) and Provincetown. His comedy-drama ELEANOR RIGBY IS WAITING premiered at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival and is now an independent feature which won Best Independent Feature at the 2019 Manhattan Film Festival.

David currently lives and works in Manhattan.