David Smith

Dr. David Smith has a PhD in comparative physiology and lectured in zoology at the University of Melbourne before switching careers to become an independent documentary film maker and author. David was Senior Researcher for the multi-award winning ABC/BBC TV series 'Nature of Australia', and also hosted his own national weekly TV series,"David Smith's EARTHWATCH" for two years.
He was awarded a 1995 Screenwriting Attachment by the Literature Board of the Australia Council, one of only three for the year, selected on the merits of the author's novels.
All up, he has to date written and filmed more than 20 broadcast TV documentaries, published 35 scientific research papers and published six books, including the critically acclaimed ecothrillers FREEZE FRAME, and TOTAL CONTAINMENT. Two more thrillers are in the works.
David's TV work has won many awards and his books have received high critical acclaim. In Australian Book Review, John Carroll wrote: "David Smith demonstrated in Freeze Frame, his first novel, that he could write a top-notch international-style thriller that also explored topical issues; the sequel, Total Containment, proves that it was no fluke. Eco-terrorism is a fertile field for the thriller writer and David Smith has made it his own in this country."

Animus, lichtbild, Melbourne, 1995

David about ANIMUS: "My challenge in writing this book was remarkable - German photographer Berthold Daum spent a year photographing dead museum specimens in their cases and storage jars. He asked me to study the weird, intriguing photographs and to write a 'stream of consciousness' piece based on my reactions to them. The result tumbled onto the page and, frankly, still stuns me. I don't really know where all the words and images came from but it was the most deeply satisfying piece I have ever written."

Freeze Frame, Penguin Books, Australia, ISBN 0-14-015627-5

Total Containment, Penguin Books Australia, ISBN 0-14-017594-6

Saving a continent: towards a sustainable future, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney

• E-mail David Smith
• Visit David Smith at www.writepage.com