Craig Nova

Nova was born in Los Angeles and raised in Hollywood, California.^[2][4][3] His father worked in the aerospace industry.^[4][1][13] Growing up, he played with the daughter of Jayne Mansfield^{[citation needed]} and raced cars with Steve McQueen.^[4][1] At age 17, he moved in with a family friend, whose father was a writer.^[4][2] Nova earned an undergraduate degree at University of California, Berkeley^[14][1] and an MFA from Columbia University's writing program.^[15][1]

Nova's first novel, Turkey Hash (1972), won the Harper-Saxon award in its publication year.^[16] This book was followed by The Geek (1975), which featured illustrations by Brad Holland.^[17] Nova was inspired to write The Good Son (1982), which follows a former military pilot in the aftermath of World War II, by his father-in-law, who himself was imprisoned in a German concentration camp after being shot down in combat.^[2] The novel is broken up into different "books", each narrated by a different character.^[18] The sequel, All the Dead Yale Men, was released in 2013.^[2] Nova's book Cruisers (2004) was inspired by the 1997 Colebrook Incident in New Hampshire.^[19] The Constant Heart (2012) was included in that year's New Yorker's Best Books list.^[20] As of April 2026, he has released 14 novels and 1 autobiography, with another novel slated for release in July 2026.^[5]

In addition to writing, Nova has also taught at Duke University^[2] and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).^{[20][14][7][21]} He was a visiting creative writing instructor at Drew University in 1975.^[22] In 2005,^{[citation needed]} he was made the Class of 1949 Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at UNCG.^[23] He served on the judge panels for the 2006 National Book Awards^[24] and the 2012 PEN/Hemingway Award.^[14]

Nova is married to Christina Barnes, a graduate of MIT and a former employee of CBS News. They wed in New York City before moving to Vermont, where Nova's maternal grandfather had land, to start a family.^[1][4][13] They have two daughters, Abby and Tate.^[1][2] In 2004, they lived in Putney, Vermont,^[4] but have since moved to North Carolina. The couple's Hillsborough house was featured in The News & Observer in 2022.^[25]

• 1971: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship^[9]
• 1972: Harper-Saxon Award, Turkey Hash^[16]
• 1975: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship^[10]
• 1975: New York State Creative Artists Public Service Award^[22]
• 1977: Guggenheim Fellowship^[8]
• 1984: American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Literature^[12][26]
• 1985: National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship^[11]
• ? O. Henry Award for short story "The Prince"^{[citation needed]}

Novels

• Turkey Hash. Harper & Row. 1972. ISBN 9780060132248.
• The Geek. Harper & Row. 1975. ISBN 9780060132095.
• Incandescence. Harper & Row. 1979. ISBN 9780060131968.
• The Good Son. Delacorte Press. 1982. ISBN 9780440029168.
• The Congressman's Daughter. Delacorte Press. 1986. ISBN 9780385294553.
• Tornado Alley. Delacorte Press. 1989. ISBN 9780440502012.
• Trombone. Grove Press. 1992. ISBN 9780802113597.
• The Book of Dreams. Ticknor and Fields. 1994. ISBN 9780395636503.
• The Universal Donor. Houghton Mifflin. 1997. ISBN 9780395709382.
• Wetware. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 2002. ISBN 9781400031177.
• Cruisers. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 2004. ISBN 9781400030699.
• The Informer. Crown Publishing Group. 2010. ISBN 9780307236937.
• The Constant Heart. Counterpoint. 2012. ISBN 9781619020238.
• All The Dead Yale Men. Counterpoint. 2013. ISBN 9781582438283.
• Double Solitaire: A Novel. Arcade Crimewise. 2021. ISBN 9781950691227.
• The Last Sweet Taste. Arcade Publishing. 2026. ISBN 9781648211812.

Autobiography

• Brook Trout and the Writing Life. Eno Publishers. 1999. ISBN 9780982077146.

• Official website
• 1994 and 2004 interviews by Michael Silverblatt on KCRW's Bookworm
• 2004 audio interview by John Walters on New Hampshire Public Radio (2005 archive)