Carole David was born in Montreal and earned a PhD in literary studies from the University of Sherbrooke. She has taught at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal and was head of the Public Lending Rights Program at the Canada Council for the Arts. In 2006, she was elected president of the Maison de la poésie de Montréal. David received the Prix Émile-Nelligan for Terroristes and in 1996 she was awarded the Terrasses Saint-Sulpice poetry prize by the magazine Estuaire for her poetry collection Abandons. Her novel Impala was a finalist for the Journal de Montréal prize and for the City of Montreal prize. La Maison d'Ophélie was on the shortlist for the Governor General's Award for French-language poetry in 1999. She received the Prix Alain-Grandbois in 2011 for her collection Manuel de poétique à l'intention des jeunes filles; the same collection was also included on the shortlist for the Governor General's poetry award. In 2020 se was named the recipient of Quebec's Prix Athanase-David for lifetime achievement in literature.
