Gina B. Nahai
Gina B. Nahai | |
---|---|
Born | Tehran, Iran | December 9, 1960
Occupation | novelist, creative writing professor |
Nationality | American |
Education | University of California, Los Angeles (BA) University of California, Los Angeles (MA) University of Southern California (Master of Professional Writing) |
Period | 1992–present |
Genre | historical fiction, essays |
Website | |
www |
Gina B. Nahai (Template:Lang-fa, born 1961) is the author of Cry of the Peacock, Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith, Sunday's Silence and Caspian Rain. Her novels have been translated into more than a dozen languages. She was also a lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing (MPW) Program[1] at the University of Southern California.
Early life and education
Gina Barkhordar Nahai was born and grew up in Iran during the Shah's reign,[2] and left with her family shortly before the country's revolution.[3] At age 13, she began attending boarding school in Switzerland[3] and later moved to the United States in 1977,[3][4] arriving in Los Angeles the night Elvis Presley died. At the time, she did not realize she was leaving Iran for good.[3] In college, she studied political science, including Iran's pre- and post-revolutionary politics, at the University of California, Los Angeles for both her bachelor's and master's of art degrees.[2][4] Nahai speaks Persian, English, French, and Spanish.[4]
Writing and career
Nahai lives with her family in Los Angeles, where she formerly taught fiction writing at the University of Southern California's Master of Professional Writing program,[4] where she also studied with John Rechy and earned her Master of Professional Writing degree.[4] She previously taught at UCLA and worked at the RAND Corporation.[4] She is a frequent lecturer on Iranian Jewish history and the topic of exile.[4]
Nahai writes frequently for the Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal.[5] She is currently working on a new novel, The Pearl Cannon.
Awards and honors
Nahai and her writings have been nominated for and received numerous awards and honors. Following are some of the more prominent ones:
- 2013: LA Press Club, Best Columnist (finalist)[6]
- 2008: Persian Heritage Award, first place
- 2007: Caspian Rain nominated by MacAdam Cage Publishing for the National Book Award
- 2007: Caspian Rain nominated by MacAdam Cage Publishing for the Pulitzer Prize
- 2007: Caspian Rain selected as “One of the Best Books of the Year,” Chicago Tribune
- 2002: Simon Rockower Award (winner)
- 2001: Sunday's Silence selected as “One of the Best Books of the Year,” Los Angeles Times
- 2000: Orange Prize for Fiction (finalist)
- 2000: International Dublin Literary Award (finalist)
- 1999: Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith selected as “One of the Best Books of the Year,” Los Angeles Times
- 1992: Cry of the Peacock nominated by Crown Publishers for the Pulitzer Prize
- 1985: Nelson Algren Award, Chicago Magazine (honorable mention)
Bibliography
- Cry of the Peacock (1991)
- Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith (1999)
- Sunday's Silence (2001)
- "Mercy" (an essay in The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt) (2006)
- Caspian Rain (2007)
- The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. (2014)
References
- ^ http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/mpw/mpw-faculty-display.cfm?Person_ID=1003568
- ^ a b "Review of "Caspian Rain"". Paste Magazine. 2007-09-17. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ a b c d Innes, Charlotte (1999-06-07). "When Truth Is Given the Wings to Fly". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g Grant, Gavin J. (2007-09-17). "Gina Nahai interview". IndieBound.org. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ "Articles by Gina Nahai". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
- ^ "55th SoCal Journalism Awards" (PDF). LA Press Club. Retrieved 2013-06-04.[permanent dead link ]
External links
- Official Site
- Facebook fan page
- "Spinning Jinni" May 30, 1999, New York Times
- Writing teachers
- University of Southern California faculty
- Living people
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American women novelists
- 1961 births
- American people of Iranian descent
- American writers of Iranian descent
- Jewish American writers
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American women writers