Josip Novakovich was born in Yugoslavia (in 1956) and grew up in the central Croatian town of Daruvar.
[citation needed] He left Yugoslavia to avoid service in the Yugoslav People's Army, and moved to the United States at the age of 20.
Novakovich has published a novel (April Fool's Day), four short story collections (Yolk, Salvation and Other Disasters, Infidelities: Stories of War and Lust, Tumbleweed), four collections of narrative essays (Apricots from Chernobyl, Plum Brandy: Croatian Journey, Three Deaths, and Shopping for a Better Country); and two textbooks (Writing Fiction Step by Step, Fiction Writer's Workshop) and hundreds of short stories and essays.
[5] Kirkus Reviews called Novakovich "the best American short stories writer of the decade".
In 2009, Novakovich moved to Canada to teach creative writing at Concordia University.