Keeping deer out of a garden is a challenge. But at Montrose, the famous and expansive gardens in Hillsborough, North Carolina, it required an installation of tall fencing, followed by a coordinated effort to drive the lingering deer through the garden gates. There is an art to it, and novelist Craig Nova, a veteran deer driver, led the way.

Craig Nova is the author of a memoir, Brook Trout and the Writing Life, and fifteen novels, including The Good Son and All the Dead Yale Men. His most recent book is Double Solitaire. He is the recipient of an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Harper-Saxton Prize (previous recipients have been James Baldwin and Sylvia Plath), multiple awards from the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and other prizes. Craig’s work has appeared in the Paris Review, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, Men's Journal, Best American Short Story series, and other publications. He is also a screenwriter who has worked for various film producers. In 2018, his novel, Wetware, was adapted to the big screen. Craig lives in Hillsborough.