Novák was born in Tešanovci to János and Julianna Novák, a petty noble family. His ordination took place on September 10, 1815. He served as a chaplain in Beltinci for 16 months and later became an administrator in Martjanci in 1816.
In March 1817 he served as priest of Turniščest
Novák gathered the old folk songs of the Slovene March. His work was also used by Stanko Vraz.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he won a gold medal in the C-2 500 m event with teammate Imre Pulai. In the four-man (C-4) canoe he has won a total of three world championship gold medals (1993, 1994 and 2003), as well as two European golds (2002 and 2004). Novák won a total of six medals at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships. His last success came at the 2006 European Championships, held in Račice, Czech Republic, where he won a C-4 500 m bronze medal.
