David Armstrong

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 UIW. He holds the Slattery Endowed Chair in English and is the UIW Moody Professor for 2026-27. Armstrong is faculty advisor for both INK English Club and Quirk, UIW’s National Literary Journal. His community outreach project, the Rising Writers Literacy Initiative, sees UIW students collaborate with elementary and high school writers to produce a professional story collection designed and published by UIW 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 - University of the Incarnate Word (2026-Present)
• Associate Professor - University of the Incarnate Word (2020-Present)
• Assistant Professor - University of the Incarnate Word (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 Angel (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 Amazon. 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