David Mann is an award-winning writer, editor and arts journalist from Johannesburg, South Africa, who writes at the intersections of art, architecture, performance, and fiction.
He currently works as the writer for William Kentridge’s The Centre for the Less Good Idea, and writes about art and performance for a number of local and international publications as well as independent artists and organisations.
He has worked as the editor of Creative Feel magazine, the managing editor of the online arts publication Between 10and5 and as editor for Cue, the former print publication of the National Arts Festival. He is also the co-founder and publisher of the award-winning, DIY literary and visual arts journal, Ja. magazine (2015–2021).
His journalism, reviews and essays on art have appeared in publications including Springerin (EU), Contemporary Lynx (UK), AFROSPORT (UK), Mail&Guardian, ArtFormes, Business Day, Sunday Times, Daily Maverick, ArtTimes, The Con Mag, ArtThrob, Bubblegumclub, Latitudes and more.
His fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in Portside Review (AU), AFREADA (UK), The Kalahari Review, ITCH Creative Journal, Sunday Times Books, Imbiza Journal, Ons Klyntji, The Thinker, Botsotso and New Contrast.
His short-form, text-based works have been featured in the Infecting the City public arts festival (2021) and The Poetry Minute project (2021). In 2022, he was awarded a Visiting Critics Residency in Vienna, Austria through Verein-K.
He holds a degree in Journalism from The University Currently Known as Rhodes, and a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of the Witwatersrand. He was also awarded a Distinguished Alumnus Award by the School of Journalism and Media Studies (2022).
His debut collection of short fiction, Once Removed, is published by Botsotso Publishing (2024).
Contact: davemann182@gmail.com
