Dave Koch is a writer, editor, and writing instructor whose work spans creative writing, composition, and the law.
He holds an MFA in fiction from Washington University in St. Louis and has taught more than fifty sections of composition, rhetoric, and creative writing across seven institutions—among them Fordham University, Stern College for Women, and the School of Visual Arts—adapting his courses for student populations ranging from art students to pre-law undergraduates. His teaching joins the craft sensibility of a working fiction writer to the analytical precision of a decade in legal practice.
His short fiction has appeared in The Greensboro Review, The Idaho Review, and elsewhere, and his essays on craft and writing have appeared in The Writer and on Slate. He was the founding editor of the Land-Grant College Review, a nationally distributed literary journal nominated for the Utne Reader’s Independent Press Award. After his years in publishing and the classroom, he spent a decade in law—clerking in the federal courts and practicing corporate restructuring litigation at major New York firms—before turning back toward writing and teaching. He lives in Port Washington, New York.
Fiction
“The Size of My Thumb.” The Greensboro Review, no. 75, 2004.
“Emperor Hirohito Meets His Pep Steppers.” The Idaho Review, vol. VI, 2004.
“Maine Is Not My Uncle.” CrossConnect, 2003.
“Paul Is Dead.” Land-Grant College Review, no. 1, 2003.
“Life Should Be.” 6,500, Ow! The Pain Issue, Spring 2002. [read]
Craft & Journalism
“Everyone Wants to Know More: How to Use Authenticating Details to Make Your Readers Feel Like They Know Enough.” The Writer, February 2006.
“Bread Loaf Diaries.” Slate, August 2003.
Legal
“International Bankruptcy: Do Principles of Comity Exist in Parallel to Chapter 15?” New York Law Journal, July 22, 2015.
My courses treat writing as both craft and critical thinking—most of all the foundational work of expository writing, the how-to-write-a-college-paper course that teaches students to build and defend an argument in clear, structured prose. I have also taught rhetoric, fiction writing, and literature, and I am comfortable developing new courses across the writing curriculum.
- St. Vincent College — Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing
- Fordham University, Lincoln Center — Composition and Rhetoric
- Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University — English Composition
- School of Visual Arts — Writing and Literature
- Gotham Writers’ Workshop · University of Pennsylvania · Washington University in St. Louis
See the full list of courses taught →
Sample syllabus — Composition & Rhetoric (PDF)
A teaching statement is available on request.
A full account of teaching, publications, editorial work, education, and awards.
Email: davekoch@gmail.com
Telephone: (917) 628-7096
Port Washington, New York