David Payne

David Payne is an American novelist and memoirist born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1955, who grew up in Henderson and graduated with highest honors in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977[1][2][3][6]. After working as a cabinetmaker and commercial fisherman, he debuted with the award-winning novel *Confessions of a Taoist on Wall Street* in 1984 and went on to author novels like *Early from the Dance*, *Ruin Creek*, *Gravesend Light*, and *Back to Wando Passo*, as well as the memoir *Barefoot to Avalon* in 2015[1][2][3][4]. He has taught at institutions including Bennington, Duke, Hollins, and Queens University of Charlotte, and lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina[1][2][5].