My stories aren’t really autobiographical – but a few stories are based on real occurrences. I used to write on the train when I commuted from Manchester to Liverpool every day, so there are a lot of things I’ve picked up from people. These very short stories eat up your ideas very quickly though, so there’s an endless need to feed the little monsters.

It’s like jumping on cardboard boxes to squash them into a small space. You’re always surprised how tiny you can get them. I remember reading that Elmore Leonard’s editor reduced three pages of his writing to one line – ‘they tied him to a chair’. That’s the principle here.

Biography

David was born in Cleator Moor, West Cumbria. His family still live there, and he visits frequently. He studied in Birmingham and now lives in Manchester. He has worked as an English teacher, a film studies lecturer, a holiday camp entertainer, a medical records clerk, a pub pianist, a debt counsellor in Moss Side, a legal consultant in Liverpool, and now works for a shadowy government organisation.

To view or download more pictures visit Flickr.

Personal Reflection

Some one asked me if the process of writing was therapeutic, and is each one a burst of satisfaction – like taking a hit? And they were absolutely right there. After spending a year or two on a novel you get no sense of the thrill of ending and completing something that you get every few days when you’re writing these little stories. Getting a high from writing a novel is like trying to get drunk on chocolate liqueurs; very slow, messy, and your parents are furious when they find out.

Listen to David read from Celia’s Mum’s Rat which featured in The Art of Tying Knots, flax003.

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Reviews

Utterly brilliant. Hilariously demented and wonderfully succinct. David Gaffney’s Sawn-Off Tales are little McNuggets of pure gold. This is writing at its best.
Graham Rawle
David Gaffney writes truly 21st century stories for a fragmented and fragmenting world; they’re short, snappy and utterly addictive and they should be required reading for anybody trying to make sense of Britain in 2006; or for anybody in a bus queue with five minutes to spare.
Ian McMillan
Funny, pointed, and sometimes even disturbing, Gaffney’s stories deserve to be read.
Jim Burns, Ambit
Gaffney’s book will knock you out. Packed with emotion, annoyance, and social science fiction, its a testament to imagination and the skill of illustrating it.’
Harlan Levey, MODART
Gaffney has produced the kind of book that makes you wish you spent more time locked in your imagination and less time dismissing irreverent thoughts. There’s a parochial quality to this work that gives off a humble warm glow. Set in Woolworths, barber shops, and offices, Gaffney looks at relationships and his characters are all a little lost and tinged with pathos but surreally optimistic. Each story has a quirky end which make you wish Gaffney was allowed 15 minutes of time with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant to make his vision come to life.
Lianne Steinberg, Big Issue
Reality becomes dislocated and strange and words and phrases acquire a compelling importance in these sad, funny fables. They recall evanescent moments of connection and happiness. One hundred and fifty words by Gaffney are more worthwhile than novels by a good many others.
Nicolas Clee, The Guardian

Publications

• Skip Trace (Tindal Street Press, 2008)
• Aromabingo (Salt Publishing, 2007)
• Sawn off Tales (Salt Publishing, 2006)
• David’s fictions have appeared in the following magazines (2005-2007): Ambit, Modart, Opium, The Illustrated Ape, Ephemera, Rant, thephonebook, Stand, Index, Papercut, FACT Mag, The Quiet Feather, The Ugly Tree, Cent, Bored Mag, Blowback Mag, Transmission, Stand Off, Mooch, Text Bones, Modernfix, Monday Night, The Mix, Aesthetica, PS I Love you, Laugh it Off, Lamport Court, Parameter, Bob, Hush Hush.

Awards

2007 Urbis Monologue competition

Workshops / Residences

• Taking your work to the marketplace – Lancaster
• How to write flash fiction – Bolton

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