Biography

David Obuchowski's professional writing career began in the late 1990s when he was a student at the University of Illinois. There, he wrote radio commercials for the local radio station as well as a small national agency. During this time, he was awarded the John L Rainey Prize (1st place) for fiction in the undergraduate fiction contest, and had several short plays performed at the University's performing arts center.

After graduating in 2001, David pursued another passion: music. His band Goes Cube signed with major and independent labels. Several other projects followed, including Distant Correspondent (Static Caravan Records, Old Flame Records, and Hot Congress Records), and the internationally touring band, Publicist UK (Relapse Records).

After a decade of constant touring, David returned to writing, and his essays began appearing in publications such as The Daily Beast, Deadspin, and Gawker. David found success with his long-form essays, and quickly garnered a strong readership on Jalopnik, where David continues to write compelling and often heartbreaking features about individuals and their complicated relationship with cars. In 2017, David became a regular contributor to The Awl, writing features on a variety of subjects. In 2018, David became the sole writer, host, and producer of Jalopnik's first and only podcast, Tempest. As Jalopnik took on new corporate ownership, he moved Tempest to Acast for its second season, which premiered in the summer of 2019. His essays have appeared in a growing number of publications, which include Salon, Longreads, and more. He's also continued to write fiction, and his recent short stories can be found in the pages of The Baltimore Review, Adelaide Literary Magazine, Border Crossing, Willows Wept Review, Kaaterskill Basin Literary Journal, Garfield Lake Review, The Miracle Monocle, and many more. David recently completed two novels, and collaborates with his wife, Sarah Pedry (an artist and teaching artist) on books for children.