About

 

David W. Plunkett, JD, JM

                David W. Plunkett is an attorney, poet, essayist, short story writer, and novelist.  His debut novel Chessboard (2019) is called “Intriguing and Captivating,” a “strong story… about human nature, the shadow workings of our government and terrorists in Afghanistan,” and an “accurate and believable… contemporary thriller” by readers.  His second novel Poisoned Pawn (2022) is a sequel to the first.  His poems “North Carolina Mountains Shade to Blue” and “Saturday,” both classic villanelles, were included in recent Old Mountain Press anthologies The Cataloochee Bridge and Opps.  A sonnet “Sunroom at Breakfast” is awaiting publication at the time of this biographical note.

                David began writing poetry and short stories in elementary school and continued to write for pleasure through college and law school, publishing several poems in various student publications: “Kitner’s Dog” and “Moby Dick” and the short story “Evidence” in the scrivener while in law school, and “Looking Out” and “Low Tide at Life’s Ebb” in The Clay Tablet while an undergraduate.  He wrote a weekly column as a reporter, editor, and associate publisher of newspapers in south Alabama.

                He is currently working on mastering traditional forms of poetry such as the sonnet, villanelle, ghazal, ballad and haiku, believing a firm grounding in older forms is essential to writing in newer, less structured styles.  He is also working on a third novel in the Chessboard series, tentatively titled Endgame, and a number of short stories.  Other projects currently in the works are a chapbook of sonnets tentatively titled A Sonnet for My Wife, and collections of his short stories and flash fiction.

                As a journalist David’s newspaper writing won awards for reporting and feature writing from the Georgia Press Association and the Alabama Press Association.  As Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, DC, his professional writing has appeared in Food and Drug Law Journal, FDLI Update, Food Protection Trends,  Encyclopedia of Food Safety, and magazines, and food industry newsletters.  His report "Building a Modern Food Safety System for FDA Regulated Foods" was influential in development of national and state laws and policies affecting food safety and consumer protection.

                In addition to writing, he served on the faculty of George Washington University as a professorial lecturer and on the executive boards of the Conference for Food Protection, Equitable Food Initiative, and the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, and worked at senior positions in the offices of several members of Congress.  He is currently a registered mediator in Georgia. 

                David lives with his wife, Vickie, in Towns County, GA, just across Lake Chatuge from North Carolina.