David Whittet

David Whittet is a family doctor, an independent filmmaker and author. Storytelling has been in his DNA since childhood. A television adaptation of Oliver Twist had a profound effect on him as a child. Dickens’ novel brought reform to the poor law, convincing David of the written word’s potential to change the world.

Medicine is a constant source of inspiration for David’s writing. Like writing, general practice is about being interested in people’s stories. The idea for his debut novel Gang Girl, the story of a young woman’s struggle to escape from the Gang, came to him during a fifteen-year stint working as a rural GP in a New Zealand community.

His second novel, The Road to Madhapur, is a heart-wrenching story of an idealistic New Zealand doctor and an Australian missionary’s daughter, whose lives collide in a remote Indian village. 

Indeed, the colourful cast of characters David has met throughout his career––colleagues and patients alike––breathe life into his writing.