David Park (born 1953) is a novelist and poet from Northern Ireland.
Biography
Park was born in Belfast in 1953. He grew up in a Protestant working-class family in East Belfast, going on to attend Queen's University, Belfast, where to was awarded a BA degree in 1975. He then worked as a teacher in County Down, during which time he wrote seven novels before retiring to write full time.
Writing career
Park's first book, a collection of short stories entitled Oranges from Spain, was published in 1990, when he was 37 years of age. Following that, he wrote six novels while still working as a teacher. All of those novels and stories were set in Northern Ireland and dealt in some way with the Troubles.
By the time he published his eighth book (The Light of Amsterdam) in 2022, Park had retired from teaching.
Before publishing his novels, Park published a volume of poetry with two co-authors. He has also had poetry published elsewhere.
Adaptations
In 2016, a filmed adaptation of Park's novel The Truth Commissioner was broadcast by the BBC. The book was adapted for the screen by Eoin O'Callaghan, directed by Declan Recks, and Roger Allam played the lead role. Filming took place in a number of locations in Northern Ireland between February and April 2015.
An adaptation of the same book had previously been broadcast in January 2008 on BBC Radio 4 in the Book at Bedtime slot. The programme was repeated on Radio 4 Extra in May 2011. Another of his books, Travelling in a Strange Land, was adapted for Book at Bedtime in August 2018. That book was also the prompt for a creative collaboration with the photographer Sonya Whitefield, which was published on the web and exhibited at the Market Place Theatre, Armagh, in July 2018.
Awards and nominations
YearBookAwardResultRef.1992The HealingAuthors' Club Best First Novel AwardUniversity of Ulster McCrea Literary Award1994The Rye ManUniversity of Ulster McCrea Literary Award1996Stone KingdomsUniversity of Ulster McCrea Literary Award2007-2008The Truth CommissionerChristopher Ewart-Biggs Memorial Prize2010International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award2014The Light of AmsterdamInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary Award2019Travelling in a Strange LandKerry Group Irish Novel of the Year2020International Dublin Literary Award2023Spies in CanaanGordon Bowker Volcano Prize
Park was also awarded the AWB Vincent American Ireland Fund Literary Award in 2008.
Works Collections of short stories
Novels
Poetry
References