Dennis Walder is a writer and a Emeritus Professor of Literature. He is a graduate of the University of Cape Town and the University of Edinburgh and was an Aytoun Research Fellow in English at the latter while completing his PhD. Walder is Emeritus Professor of Literature at The Open University in the United Kingdom, former director of The Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies, and was founding director of the Department's Post-Colonial Literatures Research Group.

Walder's research interests include 19th century fiction and 20th century literature. As a professor, Walder has taught and lectured on topics ranging from Shakespeare to the present day literature in the United Kingdom and abroad, and has also supervised PhD students. In his professional life he has focused on writing, editing, and researching many diverse topics, but he is preeminently known for his commentary on South Africa's best-known playwright Athol Fugard. Among Walder's publications is a book titled Athol Fugard as well as a comprehensive study of the playwright. He has also edited three volumes of Fugard's plays and regularly writes program notes and lectures on performances of Fugard.