Nova Ren Suma is an American #1

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

best selling author of young adult novels. Her best-known work is ''

The Walls Around Us ''The Walls Around Us'' is a 2015 young adult novel by Nova Ren Suma, which became the number one best selling for 2015 according to ''The New York Times''. First published in March 2015 through Algonquin Young Readers, it centers on three young wo ...

''. Her novels have twice been finalists for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Young Adult from

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

Personal life

Suma was born in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, and grew up in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

. She lived in

Saugerties, New York Saugerties () is a town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County, New York. The population was 19,038 at the time of the 2020 Census, a decline from 19,482 in 2010. The village of the same name is located entirely within the town. Part ...

, until she was five and moved to

Pennington, New Jersey Pennington is a borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The borough is located at the cross-roads between the Delaware Valley region to the south and the Raritan Valley region to the north. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

, after her parents' divorce. She spent her teen years living in

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 2000 ...

, where she frequented the

Ashokan Reservoir The Ashokan Reservoir (; Iroquoian languages, Iroquois for "place of fish") is a reservoir (water), reservoir in Ulster County, New York. It is at the eastern end of the Catskill Park, and is one of several in the region created to New York City ...

, which became the setting for her novel ''Imaginary Girls''. Suma studied ballet from six to sixteen, which served as inspiration for her novel ''The Walls Around Us''.

Career

She cites discovering the works of

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...

when she was twelve years old as her reason for wanting to become a writer. The first fiction she ever wrote were poems and short stories, which piqued her interest to study writing. After Suma received her self-designed BA in journalism, creative writing and photography from

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

, she moved to New York City for graduate school at age 22, inspired by her mother's stories of her own experience in the city. She stayed in New York City and obtained an MFA in fiction from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She wrote two adult novels before discovering the possibility of writing young adult novels, through her day job out at HarperCollins Children's Books. She cites

Laura Kasischke Laura Kasischke is an American fiction writer and poet. She is best known for writing the novels '' Suspicious River'', ''The Life Before Her Eyes'' and '' White Bird in a Blizzard'', all of which have been adapted to film. Life and work She was ...

Laura Ruby Laura Ruby is the author of twelve books, including ''Bone Gap'', winner of the 2016 Printz Award and finalist for the 2015 National Book Award. ''Bone Gap'' is a coming-of-age mystery about a kidnapping in a small Midwestern town, and it incorp ...

Rita Williams-Garcia Rita Williams-Garcia (born 1957) is an American writer of novels for children and young adults . In 2010, her young adult novel ''Jumped'' was a National Book Award finalist for Young People's Literature. She won the 2011 Newbery Honor Award, C ...

, Bennett Madison, and

Francesca Lia Block Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is known for the '' Weetzie Bat'' series, which she began while a student at UC Berkeley. Early life Block was born in Los Angeles to a ...

as authors whose works deeply inspired her to write young adult novels herself. Other of her past jobs include being an assistant editor at

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

and an editorial & production associate at Raw Books. She has been awarded residencies at the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire, United States, founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDowell ...

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

, and the

Millay Colony for the Arts Millay Arts, formerly the Millay Colony for the Arts, is an arts community offering residency-retreats and workshops in Austerlitz, New York, and free arts programs in local public schools. Housed on the former property of feminist/activist poet ...

. She was awarded an NEA fellowship for a residency at the Hambidge Center for Arts & Sciences. Her novel ''The Walls Around Us'' was a finalist for an

for Best Young Adult in 2016. Her novel ''A Room Away from the Wolves'' was a finalist for the same award in 2019. She teaches at

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

, in the Writing for Children & Young Adults low-residency MFA program, and at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In November 2017, she and fellow author Emily X.R. Pan founded ''Foreshadow: A Serial Anthology'' via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo, as an online venue for established authors to publish short stories alongside new voices.

Bibliography

Books

* ''A Room Away From the Wolves'',

Algonquin Young Readers Workman Publishing Company, Inc., is an American publisher of trade books founded by Peter Workman. The company is comprised of either imprints: Workman, Workman Children’s, Workman Calendars, Artisan, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and Algon ...

(2018) * ''

'',

(2015) * ''17 & Gone'',

Dutton Books E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...

(2013) * ''Fade Out'',

Simon Pulse Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...

(2012) * ''Imaginary Girls'',

(2011) * ''Dani Noir'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

(2009)

Short stories

*"Mars, New York", ''Gulf Coast'' (2001) *"Hanami", ''Orchid'' (2002) *"Ghost Story", ''New York Stories'' (2003) *"Last Resort", ''Small Spiral Notebook'' (volume 3, issue 2 2006) *"No Vacancy", ''LIT Magazine'' (issue 11 2006) *"Some Kind of Happy Life", ''The Portland Review'' (spring 2007) *"The Birds of Azalea Street", ''Slasher Girls & Monster Boys'',

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

(2015) *"The One Who Stayed" in ''Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft'', edited by Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe (

Harlequin Teen Harlequin Enterprises ULC (known simply as Harlequin) is a romance and women's fiction publisher founded in Winnipeg, Canada in 1949. From the 1960s, it grew into the largest publisher of romance fiction in the world. Based in Toronto, Canada si ...

) (2018) * "Twelve Frames", ''It's a Whole Spiel: Love, Latkes, & Other Jewish Stories'',

Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...

(2019)

Essays

* "Reading Worthy Women", ''Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World'',

(2017)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Blog
(official)
''Imaginary Girls'' book site
(official) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suma, Nova Ren Living people Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Antioch College alumni Novelists from New York (state) 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American writers of young adult literature 21st-century American women writers Women writers of young adult literature Year of birth missing (living people)