David Astle

David Astle has written two novels, Marzipan Plan and Book of Miles, plus two non-fiction works: One Down, One Missing (a true crime thriller) and Offbeat Australia (a trivia/travel guide to our strange continent).

Between books, he drives the world to delight and despair as Friday’s crossword setter, DA, appearing in both the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age. Actor Geoffrey Rush, in fact, describes David as “the Sergeant Pepper of cryptic crosswords – a complete mind f***.” Which is possibly a compliment.

As a feature writer, David has investigated luck, lying and fridge magnets, plus a hundred different topics for Sunday Life and other magazines. He also regularly reviews books for ABC Radio National.

David’s short plays have been performed as part of the Short & Sweet Festivals, both in Sydney and Melbourne, while his short stories have won several awards, including a trip to Beijing via Dublin as part of the James Joyce Suspended Sentence Prize in 2001.

His latest book, Puzzled, is published by Allen & Unwin.

Books by David Astle

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  Puzzled

  ‘He’s the Sergeant Pepper of cryptic crosswords.’ —Geoffrey Rush

  Some of us are word junkies. Some see words within words: where we simply see celebrate others see Crete and Elba; where we see Geoffrey Rush they see Gruffy Heroes. David Astle should know. He loves words and celebrates them on a daily basis. In this book he takes us on a personal tour into the secret life of words.

  More than a how to, more than a memoir, Puzzled is a book for all word junkies. It enlightens us in the art of cyptic crosswords and delights in the quirky realm of wordplay.

  Details