David L. Flusfeder (born 1960) is an American-born British author, journalist, playwright, and screenwriter.

Early life

Flusfeder was born in

Summit, New Jersey Summit is the northernmost City (New Jersey), city of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located within the New York metropolitan area. Situated on a ridge in north Jersey, northern–central Jersey, centra ...

to Joe Flusfeder, a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, and a mother from the East End of London. Born in Warsaw, Joe Flusfeder lived through the early months of the 1939 German occupation of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. He later spent sixteen months as a prisoner of war, performing

slave labour Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in Siberia from 1940 to 1941. Afterwards, he fought in the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

. When David was six, his parents separated and he and his sister went to live with their mother in London. Joe remarried, and died in 2008, aged eighty-six. Two years later, David would write a column for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in remembrance of his father. In the article, he recounts the sudden inspiration for and writing of the novel ''A Film by Spencer Ludwig'', suggesting its deeply autobiographical nature, as it follows a son's visits to a father with whom he has a complex relationship.

Personal life

He was educated at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, where in 1983 he earned his

B. A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

, and the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

, from which he received his M. A. in creative writing in 1988. He is currently the director of creative writing at the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

, and has taught the subject at the universities of East Anglia,

Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

, and

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

, as well as at

Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...

. He lives in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

with his wife and two children.

Other work

In 2011, Flusfeder became chairman of the Rules Committee of the International Federation of Poker (IFP), from which he resigned in 2013. He has been a poker columnist for ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...

'', as well as a television critic for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. He is working on an opera, ''Army of Lovers'', with British pianist and composer

Mark Springer Mark Springer is a British Pianist and composer. Springer first came to public attention in the group Rip Rig and Panic. This group also featured the singer Neneh Cherry, Sean Oliver, Gareth Sager, and Bruce Smith. During his time with the group ...

Bibliography

*''Luck'' (2022) *''John the Pupil'' (2014) *''A Film by Spencer Ludwig'' (2010) *''The Pagan House'' (2007) *''The Gift'' (2003) *''Morocco'' (2000) *''Like Plastic'' (1996), winner of the

Encore Award The £15,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor, presented by the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King Ge ...

*''Man Kills Woman'' (1993)

External links

Times Literary Supplement review of The Pagan House

http://www.davidflusfeder.co.uk/

Articles by David Flusfeder on the 5th Estate blog

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flusfeder, David 1960 births Living people Alumni of the University of Sussex Alumni of the University of East Anglia American thriller writers American historical novelists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers