Dave Awl is the founder of the Pansy Kings, a small legion of gay male authors, performance artists, musicians, playwrights, and media artists from Chicago who've performed at some of that city's finest venues. He is also one of the most enduring and endeared members of the Neo-Futurists, an ensemble of performers who write their own show, almost anew, each week, offering 30 plays in 60 minutes. He is the producer of the Neo-Futurists' first CD, and was also once an astrology columnist for the Windy City Times, one of Chicago's main gay-focussed newsweeklies. His column, "Wild Planets", earned much praise and appreciation from the public and press.

Awl is also the principal online biographer of English-American author Russell Hoban, having created the Head of Orpheus website. (Advanced news on Hoban's writing and publishing is regularly available there.) Current performance and publishing info on Awl is available through his Parakeet Report site. Dave Awl acquired a full chapter of his own in the Book of Voices in 2006.