Craig Nova
Encyclopedia
Craig Nova is an American novelist and author of twelve novels.
His writing has appeared in Esquire
, The Paris Review, The New York Times
Magazine, and Men's Journal
, among others. His short story, "The Prince," won an O.Henry Award. His first novel, "Turkey Hash", won the prestigious Harper-Saxton Award. Nova received an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and received a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 1997.http://www.gf.org/77fellow.html
His twelve novels thus far are somewhat thematically linked. The first the novels, written in the 1970s, were basically coming of age or bildungsroman novels. The next three, his third, fourth and fifth books ("The Good Son, "The Congressman's Daughter" and "Tornado Alley") are often thought of as his Passion Trilogy, sharing similar structures (each novel is broken up into different "books"; each novel is narrated in the first person by a variety of characters, male and female). And the books share similar geography, with stories that either take place largely in the East (as it does in "The Congressman's Daughter"), or which begin on the East coast and gradually move West. "The Good Son" starts out in the East (Ohio), New York and in New England (Vermont, etc.), where Nova lived for over three decades, and its denouement takes place in both the West (Washington) and East, New York. "Tornado Alley", The last book in the Passion Trilogy moves the action from the East coast (Pennsylvania) across country to the West coast, in California, where the majority of Nova's story about passion, adultery and unrequited love plays out. In each book, a serious conflict arises between parent and child, or man and wife (or both), usually due to one or both of them being in love (complicated triangles were part of Nova's well-written bag of tricks during this era of his career). This Passion Trilogy may well prove to be Nova's personal masterpiece. In its unerring ability to capture Americans of all classes (lower, middle and upper) and the struggles for power that take place everyday (between father and son, father and daughter, husband and wife, etc.), and its uncanny ability to capture the voices of characters feminine and masculine, the three novels and writing therein are reminiscent of the best work of Booth Tarkington. A book critic for the Seattle Times was moved to write, "I see them as the all-American prose equivalent to Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 3, 5 and 7. ...there's a genuinely classical grandeur to Nova's tales of erotic derailment and titanic family conflict." Nova's next three novels, his seventh, eighth and ninth books ("Trombone", "The Book of Dreams", and "The Universal Donor"), are linked geographically, with all of the action taking place on the West coast, largely in California, where Nova was born and raised. As a child, he played with the daughter of Jane Mansfield and as a teenager, raced against Steve McQueen. His Hollywood childhood was put to good use in his California trilogy of novels that taken on relationships the various people (lovers, fathers, friends and others) wrapped up in movie-making and con games, with the lines between both often being blurred. In his three most recent novels ("Wetware", "Cruisers", and "The Informer"), Nova has moved into the genre of crime and mystery fiction, taking cues and borrowing tropes from writers like William Gibson ("Wetware"), James M. Cain ("Cruisers") and Graham Greene ("The Informer").
His next novel,"All The Dead Yale Men", a sequel to "The Good Son", will be published in 2012.
In 2005 he was named Class of 1949 Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
. Nova was a judge on the fiction panel of the 2006 National Book Awards.
He lives in North Carolina
.
His writing has appeared in Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, The Paris Review, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Magazine, and Men's Journal
Men's Journal
Men's Journal is an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and "gear". It is owned by Jann Wenner of Wenner Media....
, among others. His short story, "The Prince," won an O.Henry Award. His first novel, "Turkey Hash", won the prestigious Harper-Saxton Award. Nova received an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and received a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 1997.http://www.gf.org/77fellow.html
His twelve novels thus far are somewhat thematically linked. The first the novels, written in the 1970s, were basically coming of age or bildungsroman novels. The next three, his third, fourth and fifth books ("The Good Son, "The Congressman's Daughter" and "Tornado Alley") are often thought of as his Passion Trilogy, sharing similar structures (each novel is broken up into different "books"; each novel is narrated in the first person by a variety of characters, male and female). And the books share similar geography, with stories that either take place largely in the East (as it does in "The Congressman's Daughter"), or which begin on the East coast and gradually move West. "The Good Son" starts out in the East (Ohio), New York and in New England (Vermont, etc.), where Nova lived for over three decades, and its denouement takes place in both the West (Washington) and East, New York. "Tornado Alley", The last book in the Passion Trilogy moves the action from the East coast (Pennsylvania) across country to the West coast, in California, where the majority of Nova's story about passion, adultery and unrequited love plays out. In each book, a serious conflict arises between parent and child, or man and wife (or both), usually due to one or both of them being in love (complicated triangles were part of Nova's well-written bag of tricks during this era of his career). This Passion Trilogy may well prove to be Nova's personal masterpiece. In its unerring ability to capture Americans of all classes (lower, middle and upper) and the struggles for power that take place everyday (between father and son, father and daughter, husband and wife, etc.), and its uncanny ability to capture the voices of characters feminine and masculine, the three novels and writing therein are reminiscent of the best work of Booth Tarkington. A book critic for the Seattle Times was moved to write, "I see them as the all-American prose equivalent to Beethoven's Symphonies Nos. 3, 5 and 7. ...there's a genuinely classical grandeur to Nova's tales of erotic derailment and titanic family conflict." Nova's next three novels, his seventh, eighth and ninth books ("Trombone", "The Book of Dreams", and "The Universal Donor"), are linked geographically, with all of the action taking place on the West coast, largely in California, where Nova was born and raised. As a child, he played with the daughter of Jane Mansfield and as a teenager, raced against Steve McQueen. His Hollywood childhood was put to good use in his California trilogy of novels that taken on relationships the various people (lovers, fathers, friends and others) wrapped up in movie-making and con games, with the lines between both often being blurred. In his three most recent novels ("Wetware", "Cruisers", and "The Informer"), Nova has moved into the genre of crime and mystery fiction, taking cues and borrowing tropes from writers like William Gibson ("Wetware"), James M. Cain ("Cruisers") and Graham Greene ("The Informer").
His next novel,"All The Dead Yale Men", a sequel to "The Good Son", will be published in 2012.
In 2005 he was named Class of 1949 Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
. Nova was a judge on the fiction panel of the 2006 National Book Awards.
He lives in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
.
External links
- Official website of Craig Nova
- Craig Nova's Blog, "The Writing Life"
- Craig Nova's faculty webpage at the University of North Carolina at GreensboroUniversity of North Carolina at GreensboroThe University of North Carolina at Greensboro , also known as UNC Greensboro, is a public university in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States and is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina system. The university offers more than 100 undergraduate, 61 master's and 26...
- 2004 interview with Craig Nova by Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- 2004 audio interview with Craig Nova by John Walters on New Hampshire Public RadioNew Hampshire Public RadioNew Hampshire Public Radio is a public radio network serving the state of New Hampshire. NHPR is based in Concord and operates seven transmitters and six translators covering nearly the whole state. All signals carry the same programming, which comprises news and talk shows on weekdays and a mix...
- 2004 audio interview with Craig Nova by Michael SilverblattMichael SilverblattMichael Silverblatt is the host of Bookworm, a nationally syndicated radio program about books and literature, originating from Los Angeles public radio station KCRW. A graduate of SUNY Buffalo, Silverblatt created the half-hour interview show in 1989 to share his love of literature, poetry and...
on KCRWKCRWKCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
's Bookworm - 1994 audio interview with Craig Nova by Michael SilverblattMichael SilverblattMichael Silverblatt is the host of Bookworm, a nationally syndicated radio program about books and literature, originating from Los Angeles public radio station KCRW. A graduate of SUNY Buffalo, Silverblatt created the half-hour interview show in 1989 to share his love of literature, poetry and...
on KCRWKCRWKCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
's Bookworm - Craig Nova's books at Random HouseRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
- Craig Nova listed as a judge of the 2006 National Book Awards
- 1982 review of Craig Nova's novel The Good Son in the New York Times by author John IrvingJohn IrvingJohn Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...