Rebecca Kay Reilly (born 16 August 1991) is a New Zealand author. Her debut novel ''Greta & Valdin'' (2021) was a bestseller in New Zealand and received critical acclaim. It received the 2019 Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing, the Hubert Church prize for the best first book of fiction at the 2022

Ockham New Zealand Book Awards The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are literary awards presented annually in New Zealand. The awards began in 1996 as the merger of two literary awards events: the New Zealand Book Awards, which ran from 1976 to 1995, and the Goodman Fielder Wa ...

and the 2022 Aotearoa Booksellers' Choice Award.

Early life and education

Reilly was born on 16 August 1991 in

Waitakere City Waitakere City was a Territorial Authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitakere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest ...

, New Zealand. She is of

Ngāti Hine Ngāti Hine is an Māori iwi (tribe) with a rohe (tribal area) in Northland, New Zealand. It is part of the wider Ngāpuhi iwi. Its rohe (tribal area) covers the areas of Waiomio, Kawakawa, Taumarere, Moerewa, Motatau, Waimahae, Pakara ...

and

Ngāti Wai Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

descent. Reilly completed a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the

International Institute of Modern Letters The International Institute of Modern Letters (IIML; ) is a centre of creative writing based within Victoria University of Wellington. Founded in 2001, the IIML offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses (including a PhD in creative writing) ...

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

, where she was the 2019 recipient of the Adam Foundation Prize in Creative Writing for her debut novel, then titled ''Vines''. It was subsequently renamed ''Greta & Valdin''. The novel took her a year and a half to write, although she had been collecting material for 14 years.

Career

''Greta & Valdin'' was published by

Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History V ...

in 2021. It is a novel about the family and romantic relationships of two siblings, both

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

and of mixed Russian and Māori descent, and set in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Reviewer Hannah Tunnicliffe for ''Stuff'' said Reilly "fuses socio-political commentary with humour, making ''Greta & Valdin'' both smart and funny." Ash Davida Jane called it "the best novel of the year".

Becky Manawatu Becky Manawatu (born 1982) is a New Zealand writer. In 2020, she won two Ockham New Zealand Book Awards for her first novel, ''Auē'' and Best Crime Novel at the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards. Biography Manawatu was born Becky Wixon in June 1982 ...

praised "the tenderness Reilly achieves through her love for these characters, which translates page by page, word by word, to a love of people". Rachel O'Connor for ''

Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

'' noted a level of "information overload" but concluded "there is much to enjoy in ''Greta & Valdin'', and hopefully much more to come from its author, whose youthful, funny voice delivers a fresh and entertaining tour of life and love in Auckland's CBD".

Steve Braunias Steven Carl Braunias (born 20 June 1960) is a New Zealand author, columnist, journalist and editor. He is the author of 14 books. Early life and family Braunias was born in New Zealand to an Austrian immigrant father and a New Zealand-born mother ...

, in his list of the ten best New Zealand novels of 2021, ranked it as number one, calling it "the funniest and also the most original, enjoyable and best novel published in New Zealand in 2021". ''Greta & Valdin'' was shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2022

, and was awarded the Hubert Church prize for the best first book of fiction. Reilly was one of two Māori authors shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott award. At the time of the shortlisting announcement it was the top book on the Nielsen best-seller books chart, and ''

The Spinoff ''The Spinoff'' is a New Zealand online magazine and news website that was founded in 2014. It is known for current affairs coverage, political and social analysis, and cultural commentary. It earns money through commercial sponsorship and su ...

'' books editor Catherine Woulfe noted that the novel "will win by miles if the judges are of a mind to nod to the national mood". The book won the Aotearoa Booksellers' Choice Award at the 2022 Aotearoa Book Trade Industry Awards. It was third on the list of New Zealand fiction bestsellers of 2022. In September 2022 Reilly was a judge, together with

Harry Ricketts Harry Ricketts (born 1950) is a poet, biographer, editor, anthologist, critic, academic, literary scholar and cricket writer. He has written biographies of Rudyard Kipling and of a dozen British First World War poets. Life Ricketts was bor ...

, of the ''Nine to Noon'' short story competition on

Radio New Zealand Radio New Zealand (), commonly known as RNZ or Radio NZ, is a New Zealand public service broadcaster and Crown entity. Established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995, it operates news and current affairs station, RNZ National, and a classi ...

. In early 2023 it was reported that ''Greta & Valdin'' would be published by Hutchinson Heinemann in the UK in early 2024 and that US rights to the novel had also been sold. ''Greta & Valdin'' was published in the UK and USA on 6 February 2024. A review by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described it as a "generous, tender debut novel of family and self-acceptance" and "so brimming with life it can feel almost dizzying". It was also listed as one of the best upcoming new books of 2024 by British magazines ''

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a quarterly British lifestyle magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. ''Dazed'' is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for produ ...

'' and ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'', with the latter noting that the book had been a "huge hit" in New Zealand and that "such success very much deserves repeating". In June 2024, the novel was shortlisted for the

Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022, is an annual literary award presented by British bookseller Waterstones Waterstones Booksellers Limited, trading as Waterstones (formerly Waterstone's), is a British bookselling, ...

References

External links

Interview with Reilly, 2019
by the International Institute of Modern Letters
Interview with Reilly, 2021
by Kete Books
Interview with Reilly, 2021
on

Interview with Reilly, 2022
by ''Stuff''
"Videotapes"
short fiction by Reilly in ''Scum'' magazine
"The Hill", an early extract from ''Greta & Valdin''
in the journal ''Turbine , Kapohau'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Reilly, Rebecca K Living people 1991 births Writers from Auckland 21st-century New Zealand women writers 21st-century New Zealand novelists Ngāti Hine people Ngāti Wai people International Institute of Modern Letters alumni New Zealand Māori writers New Zealand women novelists