David McNair

writing

My fiction has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Shenandoah, and other literary journals. In 2021, I was runner-up in the Sewanee Review’s annual fiction contest.
For The DTM, my coverage of two Black men wrongly accused of committing a random “knockout attack” on a white couple on the Downtown Mall (Gawker), as well as coverage and analysis of the KKK and Unite the Right rallies in August 2017, prompted this from the executive editor of Fast Company Magazine: “good stuff from what seems to be the best news source in Charlottesville.”
A series of investigative stories I wrote for The Hook on the suicide of Virginia Quarterly Review managing editor Kevin Morrissey (part 2, part 3) attracted national news coverage [ABCNews, NBC Today Show, LA Times, New York Times], led to a national discussion about workplace bullying, and prompted the University of Virginia to launch an initiative to address the issue.
For TakePart.com, I examined the legacy of sexual assault at UVA, interviewed a young activist in Pakistan trying to end the practice of child marriages, and wrote about an animal rights journalist being targeted by the FBI. I also covered developments in technology and social justice across Africa for TakePart WORLD, which was funded by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Here’s a story I wrote about rock star Dave Matthews and the tragic suicide of a local musician.