Dr David Devanny
Associate Professor Multimedia Writing & Storytelling
David is an Associate Professor and acting Head of Subject for Writing and Journalism at Falmouth University. He is a poet and multimedia artist. His practice-based PhD examined cultural developments in the publishing industry with a particular focus on digital storytelling. He has presented research widely, in magazines and exhibitions, journal articles and book chapters, and at peer-reviewed conferences including E-Poetry, The British and Irish Contemporary Poetry Symposium and the Electronic Literature Organisation. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and teaches on a number of Writing degrees at Falmouth and was on the national QAA subject benchmarking panel for Creative Writing 2023.
David is an award-winning writer and artist with a portfolio in poetry and writing for digital media. His digital media writing has been published in a wide variety of modes including Code {Poems} (Bertran: 2012), in the Smartphone app Hidden Stories (Cuttlefish Media: 2015), at the Prado Media Lab (2013), and the Hatton Gallery (2015). His interactive poem ‘orange sweatshirt’ was shortlisted for the New Media Writing Prize 2013 in both student and professional categories and was the winner in the student category. In 2019 he exhibited new VR poetry in Toulouse, and at Terre Verte Gallery in Altarnun, and completed a CAST residency with a multimedia exhibition. In 2025 his 'dark digital narratives' project involves VR storytelling in networked community settings between Falmouth, Glasgow, Bergen and Paris.
His print work has been published widely in magazines and in the Ictus Prize winning pamphlet Wasps on the Way (Mews Press: 2012). In 2018 he was the Writer in Residence at Cyprus Well in Launceston. David has performed his work publicly in a range of settings including headlining Bodmin Poetry Festival with Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin the poet laureate of Ireland, and in an invited public reading at The Fish Factory hosted by Exeter University. More recently he has had poetry published in Cornish Modern Poetry (Broken Sleep Books, 2022), 26 Tylerow yn Kernow (The 26 Group, 2023) and 26 Voices for Change (The Poetry Point, 2021). He is the co-director of The Grammarsow Residency and Cornwall Poetry Library, and serves as a trustee of The Charles Causley Trust, a Cornwall based literature and arts charity.
External Links
Qualifications
Qualifications
| Year | Qualification | Awarding body |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | PhD in Digital Literatures & Poetry Publishing | Falmouth University |
| 2016 | PGCHE Creative Education (with FHEA) | Falmouth University |
| 2012 | MA Writing | Sheffield Hallam University |
| 2010 | BA (Hons) English Literature and Creative Writing | Warwick University |
Research Interests
Research interests and expertise
There are currently four main strands to David’s research activity: digital literature and intermedia storytelling in writing and publishing studies, digital technologies for creative writing pedagogy, contemporary poetry and poetics, gothic literatures and dark economies. David is a member of the National Association of Writers in Education and the Electronic Literature Organisation. He has presented at peer reviewed conferences in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain and Norway. He has published a number of articles in peer reviewed journals and chapters in academic books. He has been on the organising committee for several conferences at Falmouth University including Fascinate Digital Arts (1 and 2), Folk Horror in the 21st Century, Dark Economies, Haunted Landscapes 2 (2023), and Sex, Scandal and Sensation (2024).
David’s primary research interests include digital storytelling (interactive text, VR and AI), digital education and writing pedagogy, the UK publishing industry and the future of the book, intermedia gothic studies, creative-critical writing, and contemporary poetry. His PhD and subsequent research primarily centres on literary and cultural theory around digital literatures, modes of dissemination and cultural responses to digital media.
19th and 20th century poetry.
Research Outputs
Publications and research outputs
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Devanny, David
(2023), THE CURSE OF THE CURSIVE: THE HORROR OF THE HAND IN FOLK HORROR FILM TYPOGRAPHY, In: Folk Horror: New Global Pathways, University of Wales Press, Wales, ISBN: 9781786839794, Item availability may be restricted. -
Devanny, David
(2021), Speaking with Machines & Machines that Speak: Spoken Word & Digital Performance Poetry, In: Spoken Work in the UK, Routledge, London & New York, pp. 399-410, ISBN: 9780367352530
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Devanny, David
(2021), Re-Visiting Cottingley Beck: Trash-fairies in the urban gothic, In: Revenant, Falmouth University, Falmouth, UK, pp. 31-41, ISSN: 2397-8791 -
Devanny, David
(2016), Voice Recognition for Performance Poetry Pedgogy, In: Research in Drama Education, Taylor and Francis, UK, 21 (3), ISSN: 1356-9783, Item availability may be restricted.
Research Students
Current research students
I am currently supervising four PhD students at Falmouth. I welcome queries and applications for PhDs on any subjects such as digital storytelling, creative writing pedagogy, contemporary poetry and poetics, gothic literatures and dark economies.
Teaching
Courses taught
- Creative Writing BA(Hons)
- English and Creative Writing BA(Hons)
- Journalism and Creative Writing BA(Hons)
