Dean Bakopoulos (born 1975 in

Dearborn Heights, Michigan Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Dearborn Heights is located about west of downtown Detroit. The city shares a small border with Detroit, and is considered a bedroom c ...

) is an American writer. He is a two-time

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

fellow, a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

, and associate professor of cinema and head of the new screenwriting program at the University of Iowa. Bakopoulos has a B.A. from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and an M.F.A. degree from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He is also a faculty member in the

Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a required course of study, work an on-campus jo ...

. ''Please Don't Come Back from the Moon'' (2005) was his debut novel, about fathers in Maple Rock,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

abandoning their families under a strange compulsion to go to the Moon. It is narrated by the young Mikey, a would-be writer, whose father feels the same desire to leave. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said it "deftly weld d/nowiki> magic realism with social satire". Entertainment Weekly gave it a B− saying it turned into a very conventional coming-of-age story. ''People'' gave it 3.5/4. In 2017, James Franco's Rabbit Bandini films released a film version of the novel, entitled '' Don't Come Back from the Moon'', starring Franco, Rashida Jones, and Jeffrey Wahlberg. Bruce Thierry Cheung directed the film version, which was co-written by Bakopoulos. ''My American Unhappiness'' (2011), his second novel, is narrated by Zeke Pappas, a young man compiling an inventory of American unhappiness for a struggling non-profit organization. ''The New York Times'' found Bakopoulos charming but the book too frivolous and arch. The ''Los Angeles Times'' found that some of the characters were one-dimensional, there only to advance the plot, but found the satire was pleasantly combined with warmth and affection for its subjects. ''Summerlong,'' his third novel, was published by Ecco in June 2015. It was named a "best book" of 2017 by National Public Radio, which praised its sadly funny vibe, saying, "this book nails the entropy of adulthood."

Personal life

In September 2015 he married

Alissa Nutting Alissa Nutting (born 1980 or 1981) is an American author, creative writing professor and television writer. Her writing has appeared in ''Tin House'', ''Fence'', ''BOMB'' and the fairy tale anthology ''My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me ...

. They created '' Made For Love'', a television series based on Nutting's novel '' Made For Love,'' which premiered on HBO Max in 2021 and starred

Cristin Milioti Cristin Milioti (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for playing The Mother, The Mother (How I Met Your Mother), Tracy McConnell, in the CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother'' from 2013 to 2014, and Sofia Falcone in the HBO ...

Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his role as Raymond "Ray" Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' (1996–2005), for which he won three Primetime Emm ...

, and

Noma Dumezweni Noma Dumezweni (born 28 July 1969) is a South African-British actress. In 2006, she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for her performance as Ruth Younger in '' A Raisin in the Sun'' at the Lyric Hammersmith ...

. They divorced after the show's second season.

Bibliography

* ''Please Don't Come Back from the Moon,'' Harcourt (2005) * ''My American Unhappiness,'' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2011) * ''Summerlong,'' Ecco Press (June, 2015)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakopoulous, Dean Living people American male novelists American writers of Greek descent University of Michigan alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Warren Wilson College faculty Grinnell College faculty 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Iowa 1975 births People from Dearborn Heights, Michigan