Nikitas received a B.A. in English from the State University of New York College at Brockport and an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His first novel, Pyres, was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel, and his story Wonder was nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Joyce Carol Oates. Nikitas' second novel, The Long Division, was published by Minotaur Books in October, 2009. Nikitas' work has been translated into several languages including Japanese and German. The German translation, Scheiterhaufen, was selected as 'Crime Novel of the Month' by Radio House Europe. Derek currently teaches English and Creative Writing in the M.F.A. program at Eastern Kentucky University.