Sergio de la Pava (born 1970/71) is an American novelist and lawyer. He is best known for his novel '' A Naked Singularity''.

Biography

Sergio de la Pava was born and raised in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, to parents who immigrated from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. He attended

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and adjunct faculty. ...

, where he met his wife. They live in New Jersey with their two children.Julia Keller.
The 'Naked' Truth
, ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', May 31, 2012. He works as a public defender in Manhattan,Lauren Sandler
27. Because This Public Defender Is Also a PEN Award–Winning Novelist
''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'', December 12, 2013. where he handles 70 to 80 cases at a time. He says of that work, "The stakes are a lot higher in that world than whether or not my book gets attention. On a given day, I have someone who really needs my help on a serious matter."Pia Catton.
Author find his own way, to success
, ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', June 17, 2012.

Career

In 2008, De La Pava self-published his first novel, '' A Naked Singularity'', through

XLibris Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president i ...

.Garth Risk Hallberg.
Outside the Ring: A Profile of Sergio De La Pava
, ''

The Millions ''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews. ''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary no ...

'', June 20, 2012. In October 2010, literary site The Quarterly Conversation ran a review by Scott Bryan Wilson that called the book "one of the best and most original novels of the decade" and "a towering, impressive work."Scott Bryan Wilson.
Reviewed: A Naked Singularity by Sergio de la Pava
. ''The Quarterly Conversation'', October 4, 2010. That review caught the eye of staff at

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

, who signed the book up and published it in paperback in April 2012. The book was named one of the ten best works of fiction of 2012 by ''

''."The Best Fiction of 2012", ''

'', December 14, 2012. In the ''

'', Julia Keller wrote, "''A Naked Singularity'' is not about physics. It's about the American criminal justice system in a large and chaotic city, a place slowly crushed by hopelessness in the same way that an ancient star is gradually crushed by gravity. . . . It is about a city that teeters on the edge of total collapse and complete disaster, but that has the capacity to right itself (whew!) at the last possible second." ''A Naked Singularity'' went on to win the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize from

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide th ...

as the best debut novel of that year. On February 10, 2014, it was named one of eight books on the shortlist for the inaugural

Folio Prize The Writers' Prize, previously known as the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting ...

for the best book published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 2013.Mark Brown,
The Folio Prize announces inaugural shortlist of eight books
, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', February 10, 2014. In April 2011, De La Pava self-published his second novel, ''Personae''. The University of Chicago Press published a new paperback edition of that book in September 2013. In ''The Wall Street Journal'', Sam Sacks wrote, " this willfully cryptic book, Mr. De La Pava's sense of moral urgency is ever-present. In only his early 40s, he is already a writer of mercurial brilliance, and even his strangest detours are worth following."Sam Sacks.
Fiction Chronicle: A Crime without a Solution
, ''

'', October 4, 2013. ''

Bookforum ''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. After announcing that it would cease publication in December 2022, it reported its relaunch under the direction of ''The Nation'' magazine six mo ...

'' called it " the most galvanizing meditation on the possibilities and ramifications of artistic process that I have read in recent memory."J. W. McCormack
Personae by Sergio De La Pava
November 1, 2013. In May 2018, De La Pava published the novel ''Lost Empress''. In the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

Sam Sacks praised it as "Half farce, half serious social novel, half compendium of meditations on everything from Joni Mitchell’s early albums to the superiority of football’s 4-3 defensive alignment. That’s three halves, but as with ''A Naked Singularity'', ''Lost Empress'' feels bigger than a single book."Wall Street Journal
Fiction Chronicle: Raised by Strangers in the Aftermath of War
. Jonathan Dee in the

New Yorker New Yorker may refer to: * A resident of New York: ** A resident of New York City and its suburbs *** List of people from New York City ** A resident of the New York (state), State of New York *** Demographics of New York (state) * ''The New Yor ...

called it "hilariously profane" and "thrilling."Jonathan Dee.
A Public Defender's Polyphonic Novel of Football and Social Justice
In November 2024, De La Pava published the novel ''Every Arc Bends Its Radian'', which Vanity Fair called "a roiling, noirish, existential explosion of a novel."Vanity Fair.
6 Can't Miss Novels to Read in November
. Dwyer Murphy in the

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

wrote, "De La Pava’s commitment to ideas — their creation and their interrogation — is so fervid that it lights up his prose."New York Times Book Review.
Book Review: Every Arc Bends Its Radian, by Sergio De La Pava

Works

Novels

* * * *

Publisher prints

''A Naked Singularity'' and ''Personnae'' were originally self-published through Xlibris. University of Chicago Press later released editions. * *

Articles

* 2010: "A Day's Sail", published by ''

Triple Canopy Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company and private military company (PMC) that provides armed security, mission support, and risk management services to corporate and government clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by ...

'' Sergio De La Pava
"A Day’s Sail"
Triple Canopy.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:De La Pava, Sergio Living people People from New Jersey 1970s births Public defenders American male writers Brooklyn Law School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)