Mark Donald is currently a freelance writer and editor. From 2008 until 2011, he was editor-in-chief of the Dallas Observer, an alternative newsweekly. His work life has taken several turns. Donald practiced law in Dallas for a decade, during which time he wrote five plays while obtaining a masters degree in fine arts at the Dallas Theater Center through Trinity University. From 1986-2007, he was a writer and editor at various publications, though he also spent nights and weekends serving as a Dallas County criminal magistrate from 1988-1997. In 1997, he joined the staff of the Observer, where he worked as an associate editor and a staff writer in addition to being editor-in-chief. He was also a senior reporter with Texas Lawyer newspaper and has worked as a senior editor at D Magazine.

Donald has also written for numerous national publications, including Gentlemen's Quarterly, Men's Health, People Magazine, Cosmopolitan and Child Magazine, and has received more than 30 writing honors, including 10 regional Dallas Press Club Katie Awards, the Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Writing Award (finalist) and two University of Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards (finalist).

He lives in Dallas with his wife Esther and two children, Max and Lily. His other son Adam is a filmmaker and resides in New York City.