Gina Nahai is the author of four novels, including, most recently, Caspian Rain. She teaches creative writing in USC’s Master of Professional Writing program. Her writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles, and the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. She is the recipient of a 2002 Simon Rockower Award and was a finalist for the 2007 Los Angeles Press Club Award, the 2002 Orange Prize, the 2000 IMPAC Award, and the 2000 Harold J. Ribalow Award. She has served on the boards of PEN Center USA West, The International Women’s Media Foundation, and B’nai Zion Western Region. She is a former consultant for the RAND Corporation and has researched the politics of pre- and post-revolutionary Iran for the U.S. Department of Defense.