David Leser is an award winning feature writer who has worked for the Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, HQ, the Bulletin, Good Weekend, the Australian Women’s Weekly, Vanity Fair, Newsweek and The Daily Beast. He has also worked as a Washington and Jerusalem-based correspondent.

David is the author of six books including his 2014 memoir, To Begin To Know: Walking in the Shadows of my Father. He is Executive Producer of the documentary Paul Kelly: Stories of Me.

Q&A

Hi, what’s your name?

David Leser

Where do you hail from?

Sydney

Who do you work for?

Author/Freelance Journalist

Tell us a bit about you – how did you get to where you are today?

Cadetship on the Daily Telegraph, The Austraiian, the Times Picayune (New Orleans), Washington D.C correspondent Newhouse News, Jerusalem Correspondent The South China Morning Post, The Australian magazine, HQ, the Bulletin, Good Weekend, the Australian Women’s Weekly, Italian and German Vanity Fair, Newsweek/the Daily Beast

What are your career highlights?

Four times Walkely Finalist and Walkely Winner for Feature Writing: “Who’s Afraid of Alan Jones.” 3  Magazine Publishers Associaton Awards, Human Rights Commendation, publication of memoir, To Begin To Know in June 2014.

Who or what inspires you to get out of bed in the morning?

My daughters, my friends, a sense of gratitude that I am alive and healthy and I don’t live in Syria, Iraq, Sierra Leone, Liberia or northern Nigeria.

Which other storytellers do you admire?

(In Australia) David Marr, Richard Guilliatt, Jane Cadzow, Frank Robson, Greg Bearup, Fenella Souter; (overseas) too many British and American writers to name here.

What do you plan to share at Storyology?

Myself

Where can we find you?

Website/blog: www.davidleser.com

Twitter: @DavidLeser

LinkedIn: David Leser

Facebook: David Leser