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Michael Angel Nava

マイケル・アンジェル・ナヴァ

Maikeru Anjeru Nava

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1954-09-16 （Stockton, California, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Gardenland, Sacramento, California, U.S. → San Francisco, California, U.S. → Daly City, California, U.S.

Career

Occupations
Lawyer, Writer
Active Years
1976-
Affiliations
Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, Horvitz & Levy, California Supreme Court (staff), State Bar of California's Council on Access and Fairness
Memberships
State Bar of California, Publishing Triangle
Influenced By
Toni Morrison, Rubén Darío
Influenced
LGBTQ writing community, Younger Latino American writers

Education

Colorado College
Department of History
Degree: BA (cum laude)
Period: 1972–1976
Year of Graduation: 1976
Country: United States
Received a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship; spent a year working on translations in Buenos Aires and Madrid.
Stanford Law School
Law
Degree: J.D.
Period: 1978–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States
Pursued legal career while continuing literary writing.
Colorado College (honorary)
Degree: Doctor of Humane Letters (honorary)
Year of Graduation: 2002
Country: United States
Honorary degree awarded in recognition of literary achievements.

Awards

Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery/Science Fiction)
1989
Work: Goldenboy
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Winner
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery)
1991
Work: Howtown
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Winner
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery)
1993
Work: The Hidden Law
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Winner
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery)
1997
Work: The Death of Friends
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Winner
Bill Whitehead Award (Lifetime Achievement)
2001
Organization: Publishing Triangle
Result: Winner
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery)
2002
Work: Rag and Bone
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Winner
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Fiction)
2015
Work: The City of Palaces
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Finalist
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery)
2017
Work: Lay Your Sleeping Head
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Finalist
Lambda Literary Award (Gay Mystery)
2020
Work: Carved in Bone
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Little Death / Lay Your Sleeping Head

1986 Mystery / Crime

Introduces Henry Rios, an openly gay Latino defense attorney, set in Los Angeles; explores courtroom work and personal conflicts.

Law and justiceIdentityLGBT issues
Adaptations
  • [Podcast (audio drama)] The Henry Rios Mysteries Podcast (Season 1) / Michael Nava (2018)

Goldenboy

1988 Mystery

Second in the Henry Rios series; received strong critical acclaim.

Discrimination and prejudiceLegal ethics

Howtown

1990 Mystery

Another Henry Rios novel; one of Nava's Lambda-winning works.

CommunityJustice

The Hidden Law

1992 Mystery

Deals with the hidden structures of law and discrimination.

Institutional discriminationImpact of law

The Death of Friends

1996 Mystery

A Henry Rios entry that focuses on friendship and loss.

FriendshipLossCommunity

The Burning Plain

1997 Mystery

Longer novel intertwining social background with personal conflict.

Social issuesPersonal conflict

Rag and Bone

2001 Mystery

A Henry Rios novel; one of Nava's Lambda-winning books.

MemoryConfronting the past

The City of Palaces

2014 Historical fiction

Historical fiction set during the Mexican Revolution; features a character based on Nava's grandfather.

HistoryImmigration and family

Lay Your Sleeping Head

2016 Mystery

Reworked edition of the 1986 The Little Death; later adapted into an audio drama.

Self-discoveryFamily
Adaptations
  • [Podcast] The Henry Rios Mysteries Podcast / Michael Nava (2018)

Carved in Bone

2019 Mystery

A newer Henry Rios novel published by Persigo Press; Lambda Literary Award winner.

JusticeCommunity

Lies With Man

2021 Mystery

Recent entry in the Henry Rios series; was a Lambda Literary Award finalist.

Truth and deceptionMoral choices

Bibliography

  • The Little Death (1986)
  • Goldenboy (1988)
  • Howtown (1990)
  • The Hidden Law (1992)
  • The Death of Friends (1996)
  • The Burning Plain (1997)
  • Rag and Bone (2001)
  • Created Equal: Why Gay Rights Matter to America (1994, co-authored)
  • Finale: Stories of Mystery (editor, 1989)
  • The City of Palaces (2014)
  • Lay Your Sleeping Head (2016, revised)
  • Carved in Bone (2019)
  • Lies With Man (2021)
  • Street People (2017)

Adaptations

  • The Henry Rios Mysteries Podcast (audio drama adaptation based on Lay Your Sleeping Head)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Precise blending of legal detail and character-driven narrationLyrical yet unflinching tone
Recurring Motifs
Law and justiceFamily and immigrant memoryLoneliness and community bonds

Legacy

Michael Nava created the Henry Rios series featuring an openly gay Latino protagonist and has been highly regarded in LGBTQ and Latino communities. He has combined a legal career with sustained literary output, earning multiple Lambda Literary Awards and a lifetime achievement honor.

Academic Societies

  • Publishing Triangle

Archives

  • Michael Nava Papers (held at UCLA)

Quotes

  • Judicial attorneys and law clerks can have a huge influence in shaping the direction of the law, but there are very few attorneys of color in those positions because they are mostly filled through the Old Boys Network. We need to establish our own network.
    Source: Golden Gate University Law Review ('The Servant of All: Humility, Humanity, and Judicial Diversity', 2010) (2010)

Trivia

  • First person in his family to attend college.
  • Began writing at about age 12 and recognized his sexual orientation around the same time.
  • Married partner George Herzog in 2008 in California.
  • Founded Persigo Press in 2019 to republish Rios novels and support other writers.
  • Multiple Lambda Literary Award winner (notable winning years include 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2020).