David Astle has written two novels, Marzipan Plan and Book of Miles, plus two non-fiction works: One Down, One Missing and Offbeat Australia. Between books, he drives the world to delight and despair as Friday's crossword setter, DA, appearing in both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Actor Geoffrey Rush, in fact, describes David as 'the Sergeant Pepper of cryptic crosswords - a complete mind fuck.' Which is possibly a compliment. As a feature writer, David has investigated luck, lying and fridge magnets, plus a hundred different topics for various magazines. He also reviews books for Radio National. David's short plays have been performed in both Sydney and Melbourne, while his short stories have won awards, including a trip to Beijing via Dublin as part of the James Joyce Suspended Sentence Prize in 2001. He is currently 'Mr Dictionary' on the SBS game show, Letters + Numbers.
Published: January 2014
From teenage word-nerd to Australia's pre-eminent (and most fiendish) puzzle-maker, Puzzled is a memoir of a life lost in words as well as a revealing guide to the deepest mysteries of crossword and other word puzzles.
Published: December 2013
An amusing collection of puzzles and word stories from puzzle nut and crossword king, David (DA) Astle.
Published: December 2012
A madcap collection of puzzles and word stories from puzzle nut and TV's Dictionary Guy, David Astle.