David Rodeback fiction - The Dad Stayed and Poor As I Am

David Rodeback’s Fiction

60 East Press’s first two books are collections of David Rodeback’s short fiction. They’re all modern tales, contemporary realism to be more precise, with plenty of humans but no vampires, zombies, wizards, etc., and the only magic is the magic of everyday life.

  • Poor As I Am and other stories at Christmas includes the title novella (which is shorter than a novel), Poor As I Am, and eight short stories which somehow involve Christmas. Winner of a 2024 Bronze Quill Award and named a Notable Read by the 2025 Utah Book Awards.
  • The Dad Who Stayed and other stories includes the title novella and a dozen short stories. Childhood, friendship, family, love, and loss are some of the themes. Winner of a 2024 Silver Quill Award and named a Notable Read by the 2025 Utah Book Awards.

In August 2025 David was named 2025 Writer of the Year by the League of Utah Writers.

Coming in November December 2025: Hearts Together, a Novel

Hearts Together is a modern coming-of-age story, a long novel for readers who enjoy long novels. Watch for more information here, including a book launch in American Fork.

As for the change from November to December, chalk it up to life getting in the way.

Support Your Local Bookshop (or Mine)

Most bookstores can order either book for you. This includes indie bookstores large and small and Barnes and Noble.

Another way to support independent booksellers is to order at Bookshop.org. They handle the purchase and the shipping, but a local bookstore of your choice gets 30% of the price. If you don’t choose a bookstore, 10% goes into a pool they distribute to member bookstores.

Buy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.

Both collections are available as trade paperbacks and e-books from larger retailers, including Amazon. Choose your major retailer at books2read.com:

David’s Author Blog and Newsletter

David is blogging more often, these days, at davidrodeback.com.

That’s also where you can sign up for his occasional newsletter.

Upcoming Author Appearances

Saturday, December 6, in Springville, Utah: David will be at the Springville Library for Utah Author’s Day, chatting and selling and signing books from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.

Tuesday, December 16, at 7:00 p.m., David will present “Making Promises and Setting Hooks: Crafting Great Beginnings” at the monthly online meeting of the Utah Kidlit chapter of the League of Utah Writers.

Saturday, January 31, in St. George, Utah: David will be on the faculty at the Write On Winter Conference, a one-day writing conference sponsored by Write On St. George, a chapter of the League of Utah Writers.

Saturday, April 18, 2026, in West Valley City, Utah: David will be the keynote speaker at the League of Utah Writers’ all-day Pre-Quill conference and will also teach a session entitled, “Writing for Contests: Why and How” (time to be announced). More information about Pre-Quill is available at the LUW website. The conference will be at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, at 1355 W 3100 S, West Valley City, UT 84119. Tickets for the conference are $40. You need not be a member of the LUW to attend.

Past Appearances

2025

Wednesday, October 29, in Logan, Utah: David presented “It’s (Almost) All in the Voice” at a combined meeting of The Writers Cache and Fellowship of the Ink (chapters of the League of Utah Writers) and Helicon West at the Logan Library.

Saturday, October 25, 2025, in Provo, Utah: David was one of nearly 100 local authors at the Provo Library’s Read Local Book Festival, a Utah Humanities Book Festival event.

Saturday, October 18, 2025, in Ogden, Utah: David was one of several authors displaying and reading at the Local Artisan Collective’s birthday party, which was also a Utah Humanities Book Festival event. (A late lunch afterward at the nearby Union Grill was well worth repeating.)

Friday, October 10, 2025, in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah: David attended the 2025 Utah Book Awards Ceremony in the Salt Lake City Library auditorium. His two fiction collections were honored among as Notable Reads in General Fiction.

Thursday, October 9, 2025 in Alpine, Utah: David will join other authors and artists at the Family Literacy Fair at Westfield Elementary in Alpine. During the event he presented a workshop entitled, “How to Be an Author, Starting Now.”

Sunday, September 28, 2025 in Aurora, Colorado: David presented two sessions at the 2025 Colorado Gold Writers Conference, sponsored by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, in Aurora, Colorado: “Worldbuilding? You’ll Need Some Government” and “Making It Strange: Using Defamiliarization to Change Readers and the World.”

Thursday, September 4, 2025: David presented “It’s (Almost) All in the Voice” at an online meeting of the Oquirrh Chapter of the League of Utah Writers.

Tuesday, September 2, 2025: David presented “Making It Strange: Using Defamiliarization to Change Readers and the World” at a meeting of the Brigham City Writers, a chapter of the League of Utah Writers, at John Adams Park in Brigham City.

Thursday, August 28, 2025: David presented “Being a Good Critique Partner” at a meeting of the Herriman Chapter of the League of Utah Writers at the Herriman Library.

Friday, August 15, 2025: David presented “It’s (Almost) All in the Voice” at a meeting of the The Write Stuff, an Orem chapter of League of Utah Writer, in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Saturday, May 10, 2025: David presented a one-hour session at the 2025 Storymakers Conference at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah: “Crafting Authentic Young Character Voices.”

Thursday, May 8, 2025: David presented a 3-hour Thursday Workshop at the 2025 Storymakers Conference at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo, Utah: “Making Promises and Setting Hooks: Crafting Great Beginnings.”

Saturday, March 15, 2025: David presented a session and a workshop and appeared on a panel at the Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance (EMAA) 2025 Writing Conference: “Writing Young Voices” (a one-hour session), “Fantastic Feedback and Where to Find It” (a panel), and “21 Beginnings, Including Mine and Yours” (a two-hour workshop)

Friday, March 14, 2025: David led an evening boot camp connected with the Eagle Mountain Arts Alliance (EMAA) 2025 Writing Conference.

Tuesday, February 28, 2025: David presented “Being a Good Critique Partner” at an online meeting of Utah KidLit, a chapter of the League of Utah Writers.

2024

Saturday, December 7, 2024 (Utah Authors Day): David will meet readers and sign books at Hideaway Books (a personal favorite) in American Fork, Utah, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Wednesday, August 21, 2024: David presented “It’s (Almost) All in the Voices” at an online meeting of the Blue Quill Chapter of the League of Utah Writers.

Saturday, June 22, 2024: David presented two sessions at the Eagle Mountain Literary Conference in Eagle Mountain, Utah: “You Can’t Make a Long Story Short (But You Can Make a Short Story)” and “Making It Strange.”

Friday, June 21, 2024: David and two other authors ran a boot camp for new writers at the Eagle Mountain Literary Conference in Eagle Mountain, Utah.

Wednesday, June 19, 2024: David presented “Giving Useful Critiques and Being a Good Beta Reader” at an online meeting of the Blue Quill Chapter of the League of Utah Writers.

Saturday, June 8, 2024: David presented two sessions at the Summer Writers Symposium at Utah State University: “Worldbuilding? You’ll Need Some Government” and “Writing Young Voices.”

Saturday, April 20, 2024: David presented one session at the League of Utah Writers Pre-Quill Conference in Salt Lake City: “Making it Strange.”

2023

Saturday, December 2, 2023: David appeared as part of the 2nd Annual Utah Authors Day at Hideaway Books (a personal favorite) in American Fork, Utah. Utah Authors Day 2023 featured approximately 150 authors at 46 locations across Utah.

Saturday, November 4, 2023: David appeared at the American Fork Library’s Indie Author Day, one of a dozen authors selling and signing books and giving a brief reading.