Dima Novak's Blog

A Serbian translation of Pushing Pawns — POBUNA PIONA — is now available in paperback, complete with charming new cover art. The handsome edition is the work of an exciting new publishing house, Balans Knjige.

We're looking forward to a new crop of young fans in Serbia, where chess is taken seriously in the tradition of the immortal Svetozar Gligorić. Order your copy from the Balans website or from Vulkan.

The Chess Club series is two for two — that is, both volumes have been awarded the prestigious Kirkus star.

Below I'm reproducing the review for Queenside, Book Two of the series. You'll find the original here.

A riveting story of a fight for justice.

Novak’s second novel in his YA series tells a tale of New York City’s Travers Park—“the lungs, heart and soul of northern Queens.”

The story of 15-year-old Moses “Mose” Middleton and public schoolQ722’s chess club ensemble continues with newcomers adding interest and tension. Mose learns that his girlfriend Esther is overcommitted to extracurriculars and wants a break from their relationship. She’s also taking a break from chess club, which leaves Mose feeling bereft. The following day, Mose and his friend P.D. Morales head to Travers Park to play chess; there, they find an “official-looking notice” stating that playing chess there is prohibited and that tables will soon be removed by the parks department. Wealthy parents had created a Facebook page to complain about a “criminal element” creating “‘unsafe conditions” in the park; it’s clear that the teens’ beloved neighborhood is being co-opted by rich newcomers. The kids ignore the warning and climb over the barrier to play their game, but someone films them on their iPhone while “giving [them] the evil eye.” The boys run off, but police track them down and take them into custody—an event that galvanizes members of the community to fight for the park. Novak uses the chess club as the foundation for a strong community, bonded by common causes: a struggle for their neighborhood, for their honor in an upcoming chess tournament in Philadelphia, and, at the most basic level, for their chess tables in Travers Park. The author effectively weaves in what Mose calls “choice nuggets of commie wisdom” through Viktor Fleischmann, the chess master; the words of Jane Austen through fans Esther and Mose; and generational wisdom throughout. Along the way, Novak authentically weaves discussions of Nuyorican culture, police brutality, gentrification, and diversity. Strong characters fight for what they believe in, learning life lessons along the way. Gen-Z slang is interspersed throughout and is integral to the story.

A riveting story of a fight for justice.

Here are downloadable excerpts from both volumes of The Chess Club. Have a taste before you buy!

Pushing Pawns Chapter One: In which our hero loses a chess game and experiences a frustrating confrontation with a local yuppie.

2. Pushing Pawns Chapter Seven: In which the chess club's Mister Miyagi, Viktor Fleischmann, recounts his history in the Soviet Union.

3. Queenside Chapter Two: In which our heroes discover that their beloved chess tables are in jeopardy, leading to an ugly confrontation with the police.

Enjoy!

The Furious Five are back, and they're taking no prisoners.

The rousing follow-up the award-winning “YA masterpiece” Pushing Pawns sees a wildly diverse high school chess team grappling with brutal cops, ruthless gentrification, and competition more ferocious than they’ve ever faced.

Buy Now from Amazon.

The rousing follow-up the award-winning “YA masterpiece” Pushing Pawns sees a wildly diverse high school chess team grappling with brutal cops, ruthless gentrification, and competition more ferocious than they’ve ever faced.

It’s the worst day of Moses Middleton’s life. Reeling from a crushing break-up, he joins his best buddy P.D. in New York City’s Travers Park, where more bad news awaits: Their beloved chess tables are scheduled for demolition. Then a violent stop-and-frisk encounter with a pair of crooked cops leads to detention in the local precinct house.

And that’s just the beginning of Moses’ struggles. The superbly gifted Esther has left the team and kicked our hero to the curb. The chess club is a different beast this year, disrupted by new members and romantic complications. Under the demanding supervision of Soviet grandmaster Viktor Fleischmann, the team gropes for solidarity as it prepares for its greatest challenge to date: the National High School Chess Championship.

Meanwhile, enlisting old and new comrades in an effort to save the chess tables, and perhaps the whole neighborhood, Moses uncovers a conspiracy that reaches from cutthroat moneymen to sadistic police officers — and even to his own teammates.

Multiple crises are on the boil when a sudden act of shocking violence threatens to destroy the team and shatter their dreams.

Sinister forces are at work. Can the young comrades snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, over the board and on the streets?

,Pre-order from Amazon

The rousing follow-up to Pushing Pawns, the award-winning “YA masterpiece,” sees a wildly diverse high school chess team grappling with brutal cops, ruthless gentrification, and competition more ferocious than they’ve ever faced before.

The rousing follow-up to Pushing Pawns, the award-winning “YA masterpiece,” sees a wildly diverse high school chess team grappling with brutal cops, ruthless gentrification, and competition more ferocious than they’ve ever faced before. Cover art below.

I love IndieReader for the taste and intelligence of its reviewers — not to mention their interest in books that depart from the cookie-cutter industry norms — so this is truly an honor.

On Wednesday June 1st, IndieReader, one of the original review services for self, hybrid and independently published authors, announced the winners of the eleventh annual IR Discovery Awards (IRDAs) for 2022. Pushing Pawns by Dima Novak won First Place in the Fiction Category.

IndieReader launched the IRDAs in 2011 to help notable indie authors receive the attention of top publishing professionals, with the goal of reaching more readers. Noted Amy Edelman, author and founder of IR, “The books that won the IRDAs this year are not simply great indie books; they are great books, period. We hope that our efforts via the IRDAs ensure that they receive attention from the people who matter most. Potential readers.”


Past and present sponsors for the IRDAs include Amazon, Reedsy, Smith Publicity and NY-based literary agents Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. Judges have included publishers (from Penguin Group USA and Simon & Schuster), agents (from ICM, Dystel), publicists (from Smith Publicity), and bloggers (from GoodeReader).

Pushing Pawns received the following verdict by IndieReader’s reviewers:

"A stunningly fresh take on the Queen’s Gambit ‘savant-in-training’ premise, Dima Novak’s PUSHING PAWNS pairs an unforgettable protagonist with an animated cast of zoomers and a smart, contemporary plot for a YA masterpiece that belongs on every teen’s smartphone—an instant classic."

Enjoy. The song "When We Move" seemed like the perfect fit for obvious reasons. And some not so obvious.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/182956_2f769d26fbc747b282990e3842a4ed4f/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

I love IndieReader for the taste and intelligence of its reviewers — not to mention their interest in books that depart from the cookie-cutter industry norms — so this is truly an honor.

On Wednesday June 1st, IndieReader, one of the original review services for self, hybrid and independently published authors, announced the winners of the eleventh annual IR Discovery Awards (IRDAs) for 2022. Pushing Pawns by Dima Novak won First Place in the Fiction Category.

IndieReader launched the IRDAs in 2011 to help notable indie authors receive the attention of top publishing professionals, with the goal of reaching more readers. Noted Amy Edelman, author and founder of IR, “The books that won the IRDAs this year are not simply great indie books; they are great books, period. We hope that our efforts via the IRDAs ensure that they receive attention from the people who matter most. Potential readers.”

Past and present sponsors for the IRDAs include Amazon, Reedsy, Smith Publicity and NY-based literary agents Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. Judges have included publishers (from Penguin Group USA and Simon & Schuster), agents (from ICM, Dystel), publicists (from Smith Publicity), and bloggers (from GoodeReader).

Pushing Pawns received the following verdict by IndieReader’s reviewers:

A stunningly fresh take on the Queen’s Gambit ‘savant-in-training’ premise, Dima Novak’s PUSHING PAWNS pairs an unforgettable protagonist with an animated cast of zoomers and a smart, contemporary plot for a YA masterpiece that belongs on every teen’s smartphone—an instant classic.

,Get your copy.