Masters of Professional Writing Program

Who We Are

Faculty

Gina Nahai

Lecturer

Contact Information
E-mail: nahai@usc.edu
Phone: (213) 740-3252
Office: THH 355 H

LINKS
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website
 

Biographical Sketch

Gina B. Nahai is a best-selling author, and a lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing program at USC. Her novels have been translated into eighteen languages, and are taught at a number of universities and high schools nationwide. Her writings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Magazine, Huffingtonpost.com, and Truthdig.com. She writers a monthly column for the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. She is the recipient of a 2002 Simon Rockower Award, and a finalist for an LA Press Club award. Nahai’s first novel, “Cry of the Peacock” (Crown, 1992) told, for the first time in any Western language, the 3000-year story of the Jewish people of Iran. It won the Los Angeles Arts Council Award for Fiction. Her second novel, “Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith” (Harcourt, 1999), was a finalist for the Orange Prize in England, the IMPAC award in Dublin, and the Harold J. Ribalow Award in the United States. A #1 LA Times bestseller, it was named by the paper as “One of the Best Books of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times. Her third novel, “Sunday’s Silence” (2001) was also an LA Times bestseller and a “Best book of the Year”. Her fourth novel, “Caspian Rain”, was published in September ’07 and was also an LA Times bestseller. Nahai is a frequent lecturer on the contemporary politics of the Middle East, has been a guest on PBS, CNBC, as well as a number of local television and radio news programs, and has guest-hosted on NPR affiliate, KCRW (The Politics of Culture). A judge for the Los Angeles Times Book Awards (Fiction, First Fiction), she has lectured at a number of conferences nationwide, and served on the boards of PEN Center USA West, The International Women’s Media Foundation, and B’nai Zion Western Region. Nahai holds a BA and a Masters degree in International Relations from UCLA, and an MPW from USC. She is a former consultant for the Rand Corporation, and has researched the politics of pre and post-revolutionary Iran for the United States Department of Defense. She lives in Los Angeles, where she’s at work on a new novel.

Education

  • B.A. Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1981
  • M.A. Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1982
  • M.P.W , University of Southern California, 1988

Academic Appointment, Affiliation, and Employment History

  • Lecturer, Master of Professional Writing Program, University of Southern California , 01/01/1999-  
  • Lecturer, Freshman Writing Program, University of Southern California , 01/01/1984-01/01/1988  

Description of Research

Summary Statement of Research Interests
Gina B. Nahai is the best-selling author of “Cry of the Peacock”, “Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith”, “Sunday’s Silence”, and "Caspian Rain". She holds an MA in International Relations from UCLA, and an MPW from USC. Her novels have been translated into 18 languages, and are taught at a number of universities in the US and abroad. She has been a finalist for the Orange Prize in England, the IMPAC award in Dublin, and the Harold J. Ribalow award in Fiction. Her writings have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Magazine, and The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles.She writes a monthly column for the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles, for which she has twice been a finalist for an LA Press Club award. She is the winner of the Persian Heritage Award in 2008.

Conferences and Other Presentations

Conference Presentations
  • "Caspian Rain ", Talk/Oral Presentation, , Beverly Hills , BH Public Library, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "Caspian Rain ", Talk/Oral Presentation, , West Los Angeles, LA Public Library, Westwood, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "Fiction from Elsewhere", Roundtable/Panel, , UCLA , LA Times Festival of Books, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "Global Connections", Southern CA Leadership Network , Roundtable/Panel, , Los Angeles, CA , Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "Iran Before the Fall of the Shah", Talk/Oral Presentation, , Newport Beach, Newport Beach Library, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "Iranian Youth and American Politics", Thirty Years After, Roundtable/Panel, , Los Angeles, CA , Thirty Years After, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "Jewish LA ", Roundtable/Panel, , UCLA, UCLA Jewish Studies Program, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "The Enigma of Iran", Lecture/Seminar, , USC, Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "The Enigma of Iran", Talk/Oral Presentation, , Atlanta, GA, Decatur Book Festival, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "The Iranian Jewish Community in Diaspora", American Jewish Congress, Lecture/Seminar, , Orange County, CA , American Jewish Congress, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "The Literary Marketplace", AWP, Talk/Oral Presentation, , Chicago, IL, AWP, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "The Role of Iranian Women in Society", Talk/Oral Presentation, , Los Angeles, CA , Loyola Marymount University, Invited, 2009-2010   
  • "The Third Temple", Casden Institute, USC, Lecture/Seminar, , Los Angeles, CA , Invited, 2009-2010   

Publications

Book
  • Nahai, G. (2007). Caspian Rain. Caspian Rain/MacAdam/Cage.
  • Nahai, G. (2001). Sunday's Silence. New York, New York: Sunday's Silence/Harcourt.
  • Nahai, G. (1999). Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith. New York, New York: Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith/Harcourt.
  • Nahai, G. (1992). Cry of the Peacock. Cry of the Peacock/Crown.

Multimedia Scholarship and Creative Works

  • Column, Los Agenels Jewish Journal , 01/01/2007-  
  • Essay, "Mercy".Essay published in anthology, "Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt" , 2006-2007   
  • Essay , Essay published in Anthology "If Salt Has Memory", 2007-2008   
  • Essay , "The Pearl Canon",published in "Triquarterly"., 2008-2009   
  • Essay , 614: HBI Magazine. , 2007-2008   
  • Essay , Published in Anthology, "If Salt Had Memory", 2008-2009   
  • Essay , Published in "Triquarterly" Magazine, 2008-2009   
  • Essay , "The Third Temple", Published in Journal of the Casden Institute at USC , 2009-2010   
  • Essay , Shma' Magazine, 2008-2009   

Honors and Awards

  • Brandeis University's National Women's Committee Award, 2008-2009   
  • FInalist, LA Press Club Award , 2008-2009   
  • Winner, First Place, Persian Heritage Award, 2008-2009   
  • Finalist: Los Angeles Press Club Award, 6/16/2007  
  • Judge, Fiction/First Fiction Category: LA Times Book Prizes, 2005-2006  
  • Winner: Simon Rockower Award, 2002  
  • Finalist: Harold U. Ribalow Award, 2000  
  • Finalist: IMPAC Award, 2000  
  • Finalist: Orange Prize for Fiction, 2000  
  • First Place: Distinguished Masters Thesis Award, USC, 1988  
  • First Place: Los Angeles Arts Council Award for Fiction, 1988  
  • First Place: Phi Kappa Phi Award, USC, 1986  
  • Honorable Mention: Nelson Algren Award, Chicago Magazine, 1985  
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