David Savill

Current positions

  Programme Leader Creative Writing (Multidiscipline), English and Creative Writing

Biography

From 2001-2009 I worked as a current affairs and news documentary producer with the BBC. From 2010 to the present I have worked as a lecturer in Creative Writing. In April 2016 I published my debut novel, They Are Trying To Break Your Heart, with publisher Bloomsbury. The novel was short-listed for the Desmond Elliot debut novel prize and was the English Language winner of Le Festival De Premier Roman, France, chosen by a panel from the English Language debuts of 2016. My second novel, All of Russia’s Children is represented by Sophie Lambert at Conville&Walsh literary agency, completion in early 2021. 

I am a certified facilitator of Story Exchange workshops for international charity Narrative 4 – promoting and nurturing skills of empathy in community settings.  

I graduated in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, and completed an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck College, University of Central London. I have taught Creative Writing at Brunel University, Imperial College, University of East London, and St Mary’s University, where I founded a successful MA in the practice of producing ‘first’ novels.  

I founded the degree Creative Writing (Multidiscipline) at the University of Salford to enable talented writers to aim for fulfilling and professional positions in creative industries.  

Areas of research

Creative Writing, English Literature, The Novel, Empathy, Community Cohesion and Diversity