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Professor of Creative Writing & Film, Dr. David Armstrong is an award-winning screenwriter, essayist and author of short fiction. He is the screenwriter of Light of the World, winner of the Movieguide Award for Best Movie for Children and co-creator and screenwriter of Quokka’s Wild Life, winner of three Telly Awards. Armstrong’s books include the award-winning story collections Going Anywhere, Reiterations, The Correspondence Principle and a novella, Missives from the Green Campaign. His short work appears in Kenyon Review, Narrative, North American Review, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and elsewhere. His individual stories have won the Mississippi Review Prize, the New South Writing Award, the Hargrove Editors’ Prize and been a top five story of the year in Narrative, among other accolades.

Dr. Armstrong grew up in Appalachia and worked with underprivileged youth as a social worker before earning his PhD as a Black Mountain Institute Fiction Fellow at UNLV. He’s an alum of the Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Workshop and teaches courses in literary fiction, sci-fi & fantasy writing, film, publishing, screenwriting and video game story design at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. He holds the Slattery Endowed Chair in English and is the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Moody Professor for 2026-27. Armstrong is faculty advisor for both INK English Club and Quirk, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’s National Literary Journal. His community outreach project, the Rising Writers Literacy Initiative, sees ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students collaborate with elementary and high school writers to produce a professional story collection designed and published by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ interns and authors.

• Ph.D. in English with Creative Dissertation (Fiction) - University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• MA in English, Creative Writing - Ohio University
• BA in English - Ohio University - Honors Tutorial College
• BFA in Film - Ohio University - Honors Tutorial College

• Professor - ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ (2026-Present)
• Associate Professor - ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ (2020-Present)
• Assistant Professor - ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ (2015-2020)
• Visiting Lecturer - Gonzaga University (2014-2015)
• Graduate Instructor - University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2011-2014)
• Graduate Instructor - Ohio University (2009-2011)
• Social Worker - Job and Family Services (Jackson, Ohio) (2006-2009)

• Quokka’s Wild Life (animated pre-school television series). Epipheo Studios, March 2024-Present. Available on (www.angel.com). Co-Creator & Screenwriter.
• Light of the World (feature-length; 88 min.). The Salvation Poem Project, Theatrical Release: September 5, 2025. Available on . Screenwriter & Story By.
• “The Cabotinage of Small-Town Players.” (short story) Big Muddy, March 2024.
• “Breaks.” (short story) Allium, Fall 2022. 
• “Bushido.” (short story) Ocotillo Review, May/June 2022.
• “Translating.” (creative nonfiction/essay), Kenyon Review, Nov/Dec 2021.

Reading, running, cycling.

• 2021 Edward Zlotkowski Faculty Service Learning Award
• 2020 Mission Continues Award: Sr. Maria Goretti Zehr Award for Innovation
• 2018-19 Provost’s Legacy Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence
• Presidential Teaching Award Nominations: 2021, 2019, 2018
• Faculty Endowment Research Award for 2019-20
• Faculty Workload Reassignment Award for 2019-20
• 1881 Commemorative Award for Faculty Development for 2018-19
• Faculty Endowment Research Award for 2017-18
• Faculty Workload Reassignment Award, Spring 2018

• Faculty Senate Representative
• CHASS Rank and Tenure Advisory Committee, Secretary
• CHASS Governance Committee, Secretary and Chair
• Honors Council (CHASS Representative)
• Personal Statement and Cover Letter Writing “Mini-Workshop," Coordinator
• Co-teacher/Designer: Introduction to Honors Course
• Delegation to Atatürk University (Atatürk Üniversitesi)
• University Honors Council, Board Member (2017-2020); Subcommittees: Colloquia/Curriculum; Honors Thesis
• Golden Harvest Food Drive – Faculty Facilitator (2016-Present)
• Honors Colloquia - Instructor
• Service Learning Projects in Various classes (Food banks, homeless shelters, autism awareness, animal shelters, etc.)
• Senior Seminar Mentor – All semesters for Senior Seminar

• English 3375, Fiction Workshop
• English 3375, Screenwriting
• English 3375, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing Workshop
• English 3375, Story to Film Workshop
• English 3375, Nonfiction Workshop
• English 3375, Magazine Article Writing (created)
• English 3365, Editing and Publishing (Publication of Literary Journal, Quirk)
• English 4299/4330, Publishing Internship (Quirk)
• English 4398, Independent Study: Revision Workshop; Script to Screen Workshop
• English 4398, Grad School Prep Workshop
• English 4340, Major Authors: Cormac McCarthy
• English 4301, Senior Seminar
• English 4199, Graduate School Preparatory Workshop
• English 3330, Graphic Novel
• English 3320, American Literature Survey
• English 2310, World Literature
• English 2310, World Literature (Creative) – designed for 3D Animation Majors*
• English 1312, Composition II
• Honors 1110H, Introduction to Honors