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 state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, to parents who immigrated from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

. He attended

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a 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 a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

, 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 a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', 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, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'', 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'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', June 17, 2012.

Career

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

The University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including ''The Chicago Manual of Style'', ...

, 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 A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

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 Rathbones Folio Prize, previously known as 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 in 2017 the sponsor is ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 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. and ''

Bookforum ''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature that was based in New York City, New York. The magazine was founded in 1994 and announced in December of 2022 it would cease publishing after 2 ...

'' 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.

Works

; Novels * 2008: '' A Naked Singularity'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) * 2011: ''Personae'' (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) * 2018: ''Lost Empress'' (Pantheon) ; Articles and essays * 2010: "A Day's Sail", published by ''

Triple Canopy Triple Canopy, Inc., is an American private security company that provides integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and nonprofit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003 by United States Army, ...

'' 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