Gina B. Nahai

Gina B. Nahai (Persian: جینا نهایی, born December 9, 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.

Gina B. Nahai
Born	(1960-12-09) December 9, 1960 (age 64) Tehran, Iran
Occupation	Novelist, creative writing professor
Nationality	American
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BA, MA) University of Southern California (Master of Professional Writing)
Period	1992–present
Genre	historical fiction, essays
Website
www.ginabnahai.com

Early life and education

Gina Barkhordar Nahai was born and grew up in Iran during the Shah's reign to a Persian Jewish family,^[2][3] and left with her family shortly before the country's revolution.^[4] At age 13, she began attending boarding school in Switzerland^[4] and later moved to the United States in 1977,^[4][5] arriving in Los Angeles the night Elvis Presley died. At the time, she did not realize she was leaving Iran for good.^[4] 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][5] Nahai speaks Persian, English, French, and Spanish.^[5]

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,^[5] where she also studied with John Rechy and earned her Master of Professional Writing degree.^[5] She previously taught at UCLA and worked at the RAND Corporation.^[5] She is a frequent lecturer on Iranian Jewish history and the topic of exile.^[5]

Nahai writes frequently for the Los Angeles-based Jewish Journal.^[6] 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:

• 2020: The Luminous Heart of Jonah S. selected as “One of The Margins‘s 100 Essential Books by Iranian Writers,” Asian American Writers' Workshop
• 2016: International Dublin Literary Award (longlist)
• 2014: JJ Greenberg Memorial Award (finalist), Jewish Book Council
• 2013: Best Columnist (finalist), Los Angeles Press Club
• 2008: Persian Heritage Award, first place
• 2007: Caspian Rain nominated by MacAdam/Cage for the National Book Award
• 2007: Caspian Rain nominated by MacAdam/Cage 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 (honorable mention), Chicago Magazine

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)