Stephen Lovely began writing fiction while a student at Kenyon College. He attended the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where he studied with Margot Livesey and Marilyn Robinson. In 2005 he became the Director of the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, a residential program for high school-aged creative writers.
His first book, Irreplaceable, won the 2004 Dana Award for the Novel and a 2006-07 Fellowship from the James A. Michener/Copernicus Society of America.