Josip Novakovich (Croatian: ''Novaković'') is a

Croatian Canadian Croatian Canadians () are Canadian citizens who are of Croatian descent. The community exists in major cities including the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Windsor, Montreal and Waterl ...

writer.

Early life and education

Josip Novakovich was born in Yugoslavia (in 1956) and grew up in the central Croatian town of

Daruvar Daruvar is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia, with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Daruvarski Vinogradi, Doljani, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar, Lipovac Majur, Ljudevit Selo, Marko ...

. Novakovich studied medicine at the

University of Novi Sad The University of Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Универзитет у Новом Саду, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu; ) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad is ...

in Serbia. He left Yugoslavia to avoid service in the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

, and moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the age of 20. He continued his education at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

(A.B.),

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

(M.Div.), and the

University of Texas, Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 20 ...

(M.A.).

Career

Novakovich has published a novel (''April Fool's Day''), four short story collections (''Yolk'', ''Salvation and Other Disasters'', ''Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust'', Tumbleweed), four collections of narrative essays (''Apricots from Chernobyl'', ''Plum Brandy: Croatian Journey'', ''Three Deaths'', and ''Shopping for a Better Country''); and two textbooks (''Writing Fiction Step by Step'', ''Fiction Writer's Workshop'') and hundreds of short stories and essays.

Awards

Novakovich is a recipient of the

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, ...

, a

Guggenheim fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, two fellowships from the

National Endowment of 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 ...

, panelist of National Endowment of the Arts, an award from the

Ingram Merrill Foundation The Ingram Merrill Foundation was a private foundation established in the mid-1950s by poet James Merrill (1926-1995), using funds from his substantial family inheritance.J. D. McClatchyBraving the Elements ''The New Yorker'', 27 March 1995. Retriev ...

, and an

American Book Award The American Book Awards are an American literary award that annually recognizes a set of books and people for "outstanding literary achievement". According to the 2010 awards press release, it is "a writers' award given by other writers" and "t ...

from the

Before Columbus Foundation The Before Columbus Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 by Ishmael Reed, "dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of contemporary American multicultural literature". The Foundation makes annual awards for books published in ...

. Novakovich was a finalist for

The Man Booker International Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Book ...

in 2013. He was anthologized in ''

Best American Poetry ''The Best American Poetry'' series consists of annual poetry anthologies, each containing seventy-five poems. Background The series, begun by poet and editor David Lehman in 1988, has a different guest editor every year. Lehman, still the genera ...

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

(three times),'' and '' O.Henry Prize Stories.''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

called Novakovich "the best American short stories writer of the decade". In 2017, ''Tumbleweed'' was longlisted for the

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

Academia

Novakovich has taught at Nebraska Indian Community College,

Bard College Bard College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains within the Hudson River Historic District ...

Moorhead State University Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) is a public university in Moorhead, Minnesota, across the Red River of the North from Fargo, North Dakota. The school has an enrollment of 7,534 students in 2019 and 266 full-time faculty members. MSUM ...

Antioch University Los Angeles Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) is a campus of Antioch University in Culver City, California. Background Antioch College was founded in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Horace Mann, Antioch College's first president's goal was to create an educatio ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, and the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UTampa, UT or Tampa U) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UTampa offers more than 200 programs of study, including 19 master's degrees and a br ...

. In 2009, Novakovich moved to Canada to teach creative writing at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Works

Books

Fiction

* * * * *

Essay collections

* * * *

Writing instruction

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References

External links

"A View from Pulkovo," Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts 25.1 (2012).

Josip Novakovich at the Concordia University Department of English

Cincinnati Magazine, Dec 1998, p. 57
{{DEFAULTSORT:Novakovich, Josip American emigrants to Canada People from Daruvar Yugoslav emigrants to the United States Vassar College alumni Yale University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni Bard College faculty Minnesota State University Moorhead faculty University of Cincinnati faculty Pennsylvania State University faculty University of Novi Sad alumni 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Living people 1956 births American male short story writers American male essayists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian short story writers Canadian male novelists Canadian male short story writers Canadian male essayists Canadian people of Croatian descent Academic staff of Concordia University American Book Award winners 21st-century Canadian male writers Novelists from Pennsylvania Novelists from Ohio Novelists from Minnesota Novelists from New York (state) 21st-century Canadian essayists 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Quebec