Rebecca K Reilly

Reilly was born on 16 August 1991 in Waitakere City, New Zealand.{{cite web |title=Information about the author |url=https://rkr.rodeo/#page-2 |access-date=20 June 2024 |website=Rebecca K Reilly}}{{cite news |last1=Reilly |first1=Rebecca K. |title=The Sunday Essay: In memory of Waitākere City (1989-2010) |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/the-sunday-essay/10-07-2022/the-sunday-essay-in-memory-of-waitakere-city-1989-2010 |access-date=30 January 2024 |work=The Spinoff |date=10 July 2022 |language=en}} She is of Ngāti Hine and Ngāti Wai descent.

Reilly completed a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University of Wellington, 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.{{cite news |date=11 December 2019 |title="Dazzling" comic novel wins VUW creative writing prize |url=https://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=124541 |access-date=4 October 2021 |work=Wellington Scoop}}{{cite web |title=Greta and Valdin |url=https://vup.victoria.ac.nz/greta-and-valdin/ |website=Victoria University Press |access-date=20 November 2021}} The novel took her a year and a half to write, although she had been collecting material for 14 years.{{cite news |last1=Gessler |first1=Julia |title=People Of The Year: The Gleaming World Of Author Rebecca K. Reilly |url=https://www.viva.co.nz/article/culture-travel/rebecca-k-reilly-greta-and-valdin/ |access-date=11 February 2022 |work=Viva |date=16 December 2021}}

Greta & Valdin was published by Victoria University Press in 2021. It is a novel about the family and romantic relationships of two siblings, both queer and of mixed Russian and Māori descent, and set in Auckland. Reviewer Hannah Tunnicliffe for Stuff said Reilly "fuses socio-political commentary with humour, making Greta & Valdin both smart and funny."{{cite news |last1=Tunnicliffe |first1=Hannah |title=Book Review: Greta & Valdin, by Rebecca K Reilly |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/300340126/book-review-greta--valdin-by-rebecca-k-reilly |access-date=13 August 2021 |work=Stuff |date=27 June 2021}} Ash Davida Jane called it "the best novel of the year".{{cite news |last1=Jane |first1=Ash Davida |title=New releases from Unity Books: Debut novel 'unfairly good' |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/300320909/new-releases-from-unity-books-debut-novel-unfairly-good |access-date=4 October 2021 |work=Stuff |date=2 June 2021}} Becky Manawatu praised "the tenderness Reilly achieves through her love for these characters, which translates page by page, word by word, to a love of people".{{cite news |last1=Manawatu |first1=Becky |title=Messy and Relatable: A Review of Greta & Valdin |url=https://www.pantograph-punch.com/posts/greta-and-valdin |access-date=20 November 2021 |work=The Pantograph Punch |date=26 July 2021}} Rachel O'Connor for Landfall 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".{{cite journal |last1=O'Connor |first1=Rachel |title=Lives in Little Pieces |journal=Landfall Review Online |date=1 August 2021 |url=https://landfallreview.com/lives-in-little-pieces/ |access-date=20 November 2021}} Steve Braunias, 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".{{cite news |last1=Braunias |first1=Steve |title=Christmas: The best novels of 2021 |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/xmas-the-best-novels-of-2021-1 |access-date=11 February 2022 |work=Newsroom |date=16 December 2021}}

Greta & Valdin was shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2022 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards,{{cite news |title=Surprises ahoy: presenting the 2022 Ockham finalists |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/02-03-2022/surprises-ahoy-presenting-the-2022-ockham-finalists |access-date=2 March 2022 |work=The Spinoff |date=2 March 2022}} and was awarded the Hubert Church prize for the best first book of fiction.{{Cite web |title=2022 Awards |url=https://www.nzbookawards.nz/new-zealand-book-awards/2022-awards/winners/ |access-date=2022-05-11 |website=New Zealand Book Awards Trust}}{{cite news |last1=Touma |first1=Rafqa |title=Whiti Hereaka wins New Zealand’s Ockham fiction prize for novel subverting Māori myth |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/11/whiti-hereaka-wins-new-zealands-ockham-fiction-prize-for-novel-subverting-maori-myth |access-date=11 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=11 May 2022}} Reilly was one of two Māori authors shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott award.{{cite news |last1=Corlett |first1=Eva |title='A really good sign': New Zealand book prize nominees distinguished by diversity |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/02/a-really-good-sign-new-zealand-book-prize-nominees-distinguished-by-diversity |access-date=2 March 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=2 March 2022}} At the time of the shortlisting announcement it was the top book on the Nielsen best-seller books chart,{{cite news |last1=Braunias |first1=Steve |title=Craziest Ockham book awards ever |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/readingroom/craziest-ockham-book-awards-ever |access-date=2 March 2022 |work=Newsroom |date=2 March 2022}} and The Spinoff 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.{{cite news |last1=Braunias |first1=Steve |title=NZ’s best young bookseller, 60 |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nzs-best-young-bookseller-60 |access-date=13 September 2022 |work=Newsroom |date=17 August 2022}} It was third on the list of New Zealand fiction bestsellers of 2022.{{cite news |last1=Braunias |first1=Steve |title=Bestselling books of 2022 |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/readingroom/bestselling-books-of-2022 |access-date=23 December 2022 |work=Newsroom |date=23 December 2022}}

In September 2022 Reilly was a judge, together with Harry Ricketts, of the Nine to Noon short story competition on Radio New Zealand.{{cite news |title=Our Short Story Competition is back! |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018857454/our-short-story-competition-is-back |access-date=13 September 2022 |work=Radio New Zealand |date=5 September 2022}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Braunias |first1=Steve |title=Kirsten goes to London |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/kirsten-goes-to-london |access-date=7 February 2023 |work=Newsroom |date=7 February 2023 |language=en-AU}}

Greta & Valdin was published in the UK and USA on 6 February 2024. A review by The New York Times described it as a "generous, tender debut novel of family and self-acceptance" and "so brimming with life it can feel almost dizzying".{{cite news |last1=Dunn |first1=Eleanor |title=A Debut Novel About the Beautiful Chaos of Modern Young Adulthood |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/03/books/review/greta-and-valdin-rebecca-k-reilly.html |access-date=1 May 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=3 February 2024}} It was also listed as one of the best upcoming new books of 2024 by British magazines Dazed and Marie Claire, with the latter noting that the book had been a "huge hit" in New Zealand and that "such success very much deserves repeating".{{cite news |last1=Jarvie |first1=Catherine |title=We've found the best books of 2024 to curl up with |url=https://www.marieclaire.co.uk/entertainment/books/best-new-books-2024 |work=Marie Claire UK |date=27 January 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Jessica |title=10 exciting books to look out for in 2024 |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/61479/1/10-literary-fiction-books-to-read-in-2024 |access-date=30 January 2024 |work=Dazed |date=28 December 2023 |language=en}} In June 2024, the novel was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize.{{cite news |last1=Cooper-Fiske |first1=Casey |title=‘Eye-opening’ time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/waterstones-berlin-london-new-york-sicily-b1165269.html |access-date=19 June 2024 |work=The Standard |date=18 June 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Knight |first1=Lucy |title=Six 'bold and playful' novels shortlisted for Waterstones debut fiction prize |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/jun/19/shortlist-waterstones-debut-fiction-prize |access-date=20 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=19 June 2024}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/modernletters/our-students/grad-showcase/rebecca-k-reilly-writing-for-the-page,-2019 Interview with Reilly, 2019], by the International Institute of Modern Letters
• [https://www.ketebooks.co.nz/all-interviews-articles-and-more/rebecca-k-reilly-interview-greta-and-valdin-pride-month-2021-lrec5-p524w Interview with Reilly, 2021], by Kete Books
• [https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018798113/bookmarks-with-rebecca-k-reilly Interview with Reilly, 2021], on Radio New Zealand
• [https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/300569388/important-reading-and-writing-questions-for-rebecca-k-reilly Interview with Reilly, 2022], by Stuff
• [http://www.scum-mag.com/videotapes/ "Videotapes"], short fiction by Reilly in Scum magazine
• [http://turbinekapohau.org.nz/archive-issues/2019-contents/fiction-rebecca-k-reilly/ "The Hill", an early extract from Greta & Valdin], in the journal Turbine | Kapohau

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Category:Living people

Category:1991 births

Category:Writers from Auckland

Category:21st-century New Zealand women writers

Category:21st-century New Zealand novelists

Category:Ngāti Hine people

Category:Ngāti Wai people

Category:International Institute of Modern Letters alumni

Category:New Zealand Māori writers

Category:New Zealand women novelists