David W. Berner is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, author, and professor at Columbia College Chicago.
David's most recent work of fiction, the novel A Well-Respected Man (Strategic Publishing) has been honored with an award from the Society of Midland Authors. His latest memoir, The Consequence of Stars, is available now from Adelaide Books. He writes a regular blog on writing, music, and the arts at www.thewritershed.com and is editor of Writer Shed Stories, a semi-yearly e-book journal of prose.
His first book, Accidental Lessons (Strategic Publishing) was awarded the 2011 Royal Dragonfly Grand Prize for Literature. His second memoir, Any Road Will Take You There (Dream of Things Publishing) won the 2013 Book of the Year Award from the Chicago Writer’s Association for indie nonfiction and was short-listed for the Eric Hoffer Award. His collection of essays— There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard (Dream of Things Publishing)—was released on Father’s Day, June 21, 2015. Windy City Reviews called it “a book to be read and re-read, a return to childhood and growing up with companions that truly mattered.” His memoir, OCTOBER SONG was released in April, 2016 and also has been honored with a Royal Dragonfly Award. This story of a road trip, music, and the passage of time has been called "beautifully authentic."
In 2015, David was named the Writer-in-Residence at the Ernest Hemingway Birthplace Home in Oak Park, Illinois and in 2011 was named the Jack Kerouac Writer-in-Residence at the Jack Kerouac Project. He lived and worked in Kerouac’s historic home in Orlando for a period of three months.
You also may have heard his voice regularly on the radio. He’s a reporter and anchor or CBS Radio Network (WBBM, Chicago) and regularly fills in as the morning news anchor on WXRT, Chicago. David also produced audio documentaries for public radio stations.
David grew up outside in Pittsburgh. He calls the Chicago area his home, but loves the Pacific Northwest, Iowa City, and all the remote open spaces.