David Starkey is the author of the widely acclaimed novel, Poor Ghost, published by Keylight in 2024. In addition to writing fiction, he has published twelve books of poetry, most recently The Moon Shall Not Give Her Light (Vine Leaves Press, 2025) and You, Caravaggio (Pine Row Press, 2024). The Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara City College and the Publisher and Co-editor of Gunpowder Press, he is also the author of Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (4^th edition, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2021), which for many years has been one of the most popular introductory textbooks for college creative writing courses. With drummer Eric Prothero, he records and performs as Falstaff Riley. You can learn more about David and his work at davidstarkey.net.