David Jan Novotný (born 28 November 1947), also known as Samuel Neumann, is a Czech scriptwriter, dramaturge, poet, writer, and academic.

He is the grandson of Protestant theologian and academic Adolf Novotný (1891–1968), who authored the Bible Dictionary (Biblického slovníku).

[1][3] In 1971-1976 Novotný studied at the Film and TV School of The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), in the department of screenwriting and dramaturgy.

[1] In 2001 he was made professor of scriptwriting and dramaturgy, and in 2002 was nominated for a professorship at the department of journalism at Charles University in Prague.

His novels include Vasarely's Cross (Vasarelyho kříž, 2007); Sidra Noach (2010), which won a major literary prize; //Dybuk and the Devil (2017); Gilgul (2013); Tales from the Emmental (2017); Reflections on Myth (2014); and Confession of an StB Agent (2016).