About

I've won awards in all genres, with fiction in Paris Review and non-fiction in The New York Times. Four novels are in print, and I have three books of stories as well. The 2019 novel, THE COLOR INSIDE A MELON, had blurbs from both Salman Rushdie and Marlon James, and there was praise in Washington Post, The Millions, and elsewhere. The 2016 set of stories, MOVIEOLA!, earned a lovely review from J.C. Hallman, who called it "a new shriek for a new century." Earlier, Richard Ford praised an earlier novel as "a rich feast."
In 2021 appeared my memoir, THE ARCHEOLOGY OF A GOOD RAGÙ. Episodes from it originally saw print, in different form, in The New York Times and elsewhere. Praise came in Brooklyn Rail and elsewhere, and blurbs included NBA-winner Bob Shacochis. In 2014 appeared another book of non-fiction, THE SEA-GOD'S HERB, a selection of criticism. These essays and reviews came out everywhere from The New Republic to Quarterly Conversation, and I continue to do a lot of such work. As for journalism, in particular on Italian subjects, that's turned up in GQ, Lit Hub, and other venues.
Grants include an NEA Fellowship and an Iowa Major Artist Award. I've held good visiting appointments at Harvard, Northwestern, Lewis & Clark, and elsewhere.

Featured Work

The Archeology of a Good Ragù: Discovering Naples, My Father, & Myself.

2021

A unique take on the recovery narrative, this memoir brings a damaged but savvy author to new wholeness by way of a fascinating old city: Naples, Italy. John Domini’s exploration of the place― little known to North Americans, yet rich in culture and challenge― draws on decades of research, living with local friends and family. His work has appeared previously in the New York Times and elsewhere, and he’s published award-winning Neapolitan novels. This memoir takes readers into the back alleys and hidden beaches. It examines intricacies of both romance and crime, and provides insight into the latest Naples immigrants, African refugees. Overall, Domini's archeology turns the city into a prism that throws its colors across both urban and spiritual experience, everywhere.

Other Works

  • The Color Inside a Melon

    2019

  • MOVIEOLA!, short stories

    2016