Gayla Reid (born 12 May 1945) is an Australian-born Canadian writer.
Biography
Born and raised in
Armidale
Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Reid was educated at the
University of New England,
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
and the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
. Remaining in Canada, she was active in the country's
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
movement, editing the newspaper ''
Kinesis'' and the literary journal ''
Room of One's Own'' and teaching
women's studies
Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
at
Vancouver Community College
Vancouver Community College is a public community college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1965, it is the largest and oldest community college in British Columbia, offering 91 certificate programs, 31 diploma programs, and 3 ba ...
.
She began publishing fiction in the early 1990s, winning the
Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...
in 1993 for her short story "Sister Doyle's Men". In 1994, she published her first short story collection, ''To Be There With You'', which was a winner of the
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada.
The award is named after novelist and short story
A short stor ...
in 1995. ''All the Seas of the World'' and ''Closer Apart'' were finalists for the Ethel Wilson fiction prize in 2001 and 2002. ''Come from Afar'' was published to critical acclaim in 2011. According to jury citation, Gayla Reid stands out for her stunningly beautiful language and her ability to depict places such as Canada, Australia, Vietnam etc. She also described a state of mind, an evocation of a particular character's relationship to land, people and time. Her fiction combines the poetry of language and observation with the force of highly-accomplished and compelling narrative.
Reid is represented by the Carolyn Swayze Literary Agency.
Awards
* 1993,
Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by a ...
* 1995,
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, established in 1985 as one of the BC and Yukon Book Prizes, is awarded annually to the best work of fiction by a resident of British Columbia, Canada.
The award is named after novelist and short story
A short stor ...
* 2005,
Marian Engel Award
Marian may refer to:
People
* Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia
* Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name
* Marian (surname), a list of people so named
Places
*Marian, Iran (disambiguation)
* Marian, Queensland ...
Selected bibliography
* ''To Be There With You.'' Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1994.
* ''All the Seas of the World.'' Toronto: Stoddart, 2001.
* ''Closer Apart.'' Toronto: Stoddart, 2002.
* ''Come from Afar.'' Toronto: Comorant, 2011.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Gayla
1945 births
People from Armidale
20th-century Australian novelists
20th-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Australian novelists
21st-century Canadian novelists
Australian feminist writers
Australian women novelists
Australian women short story writers
Canadian feminist writers
Canadian women novelists
Canadian women short story writers
Living people
University of New England (Australia) alumni
Australian National University alumni
University of British Columbia alumni
20th-century Canadian women writers
20th-century Canadian short story writers
21st-century Canadian short story writers
21st-century Canadian women writers
20th-century Australian women