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Biography

I'm a professor of English specializing in creative writing and modern British literature. As a shameless eclectic, I've also taught science fiction, psychoanalysis, and other fields. I've published books on subjects ranging from poetry and translation and literary criticism to adult fiction and children's literature. I also direct the creative writing program and edit the flash fiction journal Vestal Review.

Education

• BA, Princeton University
• MA, Columbia University
• MPhil, Columbia University
• PhD, Columbia University

Resume/CV

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Research

I focus mainly on creative writing and modern British literature. I've published sixteen books, including fiction, poetry, criticism, and translation. Highlights: Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook, the short story collection My Date with Neanderthal Woman, the translation Japanese Proverbs: Wit and Wisdom, the novel How to Cope with Suburban Stress, the poetry collection Kanji Poems, and the edited anthology Second Thoughts: A Focus on Rereading. Essays on Joyce, Woolf, Forster, Nabokov, Auden and others have appeared in places ranging from Twentieth Century Literature to The Columbia History of the British Novel. See www.davidgalef.com.

 

The latest:

Tradeoffs

Who would act in a film about impersonations that eerily paralleled their own life?
What if you had the power to erase from the world whatever you didn’t like?
When does “no-school day” mean something far more serious than staying at home?
Where is the artists’ retreat with residents who share the bathroom, the bed, and the writing desk?
How would you move through life with every piece of good fortune balanced by its opposite?
Why is life a set of trade-offs till nothing’s left to trade?

Tradeoffs showcases 30 different worlds each captured adroitly in anywhere from one to fifteen pages—out October 2026 from Cornerstone Press at the University of Wisconsin.
 

Where I Went Wrong, a novel

Tony Mazza is no stranger to bad days; in fact, they seem to define his life. From stints at a real estate agency, a bike shop, to managing a bar, and now as a hospital orderly, Tony’s journey takes a tumultuous turn when, under the influence of painkillers, he drives off in a stolen ambulance. As Tony grapples with the consequences of his actions, he frequently ponders, “Where did I go wrong?” This question haunts him as he reflects on his tumultuous relationships, failed real estate ventures, and personal challenges dating back to high school and earlier. His journey of self-discovery takes him through issues with his first wife, financial setbacks, and poignant family moments. Where I Went Wrong is Tony Mazza’s story, a novel that blends humor with introspection, examining the complexities of failure and success. It poses the timeless question of why some people fail while others get away with little short of murder, offering a narrative that is both comedic and profoundly serious.

 

20 over 60, a Short Story Anthology

As Madeleine L’Engle once observed, “The great thing about getting older is that you don’t lose all the other ages you’ve been.” In 20 over 60, editors Beth Weinhouse and David Galef showcase twenty brilliant short stories by authors over sixty—including luminaries such as Paul Theroux, Joyce Carol Oates, and Jane Gardam—offering a wide-ranging portrait of life in later years: vibrant, unexpected, and full of humor, wisdom, and surprise. Readers will encounter a retired couple whose hobby is stealing peppermills from restaurants, a woman juggling both her husband and ex-husband in the same hospital, a futuristic nursing home whose designers become its unhappy residents, a woman of a certain age navigating the perils of online dating, and a grandfather helping his granddaughter scatter her mother’s ashes. Smart, skillful, and often hilarious, these stories celebrate the full spectrum of experience, proving that life after sixty is as rich and alive as ever. Out October 2026 from Regal House Publishing.