We were saddened to hear of the death, on 21 December 2023, of historical novelist David Donachie.

David was best known for his nautical novels based on the naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and published over 50 books under both his own name and pseudonyms such as Jack Ludlow and Tom Connery.

His first novel, The Devil’s Own Luck, was published in 1991.

David became a member of the SoA in 1994 and was a passionate advocate of SoA membership through his years on the Management Committee, for which he was nominated to serve in 2014, and then elected as Chair from 2016-2020. David became a Fellow of the Society of Authors (then Council Member) in 2020.

During his term as Chair of the Management Committee, David oversaw the move from our offices at Drayton Gardens in South Kensington to our new, modern home at Bedford Row. He was highly engaged in recruiting new members, saying ‘the bigger we are the more muscle we muster’ and his efforts helped to produce an annual membership growth rate of 3.5%. A strong advocate of the SoA’s royalty audits conducted on behalf of members, David will be remembered for his passionate support of fellow authors particularly in relation to their financial experiences with publishers. We send our condolences to his family.

Nicola Solomon, Chief Executive of the Society of Authors