David F. McAllister (b. 92) is a writer and editor based in London.

Selected writing:

i. Essays

Our land
On the way things have always been

The measure of all things
On what counts

What Annie Ernaux owes to memory
On a Nobel prize winner



ii. Reviews & criticism

Nothing to see, and nothing to say
On Marlie Mul’s This Exhibtion is Cancelled


Francis Bacon looks at animals
On Francis Bacon: Man and Beast


Glasgow kisses

On Douglas Stuart’s Young Mungo


Scots without Scotland
On Murray Pittock’s Scotland: The Global History


Picasso’s indefinable legacy
On legacies and bad behaviour




iii. Interviews


The BBC and CNN are very biased
Ai Weiwei


Conservatives must avoid seeming obsessed with money

Maurice Saatchi


Work is just a flimsy excuse to meet people

Cornelia Parker

The biggest challenge was to make the audience feel their complicity
Richard Mosse




iv. Columns


For men, online dating is a tall order
On average height

Care about social mobility? Don’t send your kids to Oxbridge

On networks of privilege