(Click on links to learn more about each award.)
Appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada, 2001
The citation for David’s appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada reads, in part:
“He is one of the finest dramatists to successfully present Canadian concerns and issues on stage. His well-known characters, the Mercers, who left Newfoundland to settle in Toronto, have become touchstones in Canadian theatre...”
First inductee into the Newfoundland Arts Hall of Honour, 1988
Queen’s Jubilee Medal, 2002
Lifetime Membership in Playwrights Guild of Canada, 2010
Leaving Home named one of the “1,000 Essential Plays in the English Language” by the Oxford Dictionary of Theatre, 2005
Leaving Home named one of Canada’s “100 Most Influential Books” by the Literary Review of Canada, 2005
Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics’ Award for Salt-Water Moon, 1986
Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play, Salt-Water Moon, 1985
Canadian Authors’ Association Literary Award for Drama, Salt-Water Moon, 1985 (Now the Carol Bolt Award)
Nominee for Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, Salt-Water Moon, 1985
Chalmers Award for Best New Canadian Play, Of The Fields, Lately (1974), Jitters (1980), Salt-Water Moon (1985)
Finalist for Arthur Ellis Award for Best New Mystery Play, Silver Dagger, 1994