David Allan Cates (born 1956), in Madison, Wisconsin, is an American novelist and poet, and the executive director of Missoula Medical Aid. His work has appeared in a number of publications which include The Sun, Outside Magazine, The Montanan, and The New York Times Sophisticated Traveler. Cates has worked in a wide variety of jobs, however his focus is on writing, and he has received multiple awards in recognition of his work as an author. His latest work was published in 2016, The Mysterious Location of Kyrgyzstan, a chapbook of poetry.