Maria Valéria Rezende (born 1942) is a Brazilian writer and nun. She is a recipient of the

Jabuti Prize The red-footed tortoise (''Chelonoidis carbonarius'') is a species of tortoise from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average as adults, but can reach over . They have dark-colored (nearly black), “loaf”-shaped ...

Casa de las Américas Prize The Casa de las Américas Prize (''Premio Literario Casa de las Américas'') is a literary award given by the Cuban Casa de las Américas. Established in 1959, it is one of Latin America’s oldest and most prestigious literary prizes. The award ...

, and

São Paulo Prize for Literature The São Paulo Prize for Literature () is a Brazilian literary prize for novels written in the Portuguese language and published in Brazil. It was established in 2008 by the Secretary of Culture for the State of São Paulo. Though not as old as o ...

Biography

Rezende was born in Santos. She was a member of the National Student Youth Catholic leadership and, after the 1964 coup d'état, housed militants fighting against the military regime. She joined the Congregation of Our Lady -Canonesses of St. Augustine in 1965 Rezende graduated in French language and literature from the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

and in Pedagogy from PUC-SP. She holds a master's degree in Sociology from the

Federal University of Paraíba Federal University of Paraíba (, UFPB) is a public university whose main campus is located in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brazil. Along with Federal University of Campina Grande, they're the main universities in the state of Paraíb ...

. In the 1960s she began to work with popular education, working in different regions of the country and on all continents, in educator training programs. Rezende lived in the backlands of

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

Olinda Olinda () is a historic city in Pernambuco, Brazil, in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It is located on the country's northeastern Atlantic Ocean coast, in the Recife metropolitan area, Metropolitan Region of Recife, the state ca ...

from December 1972 to 1976. She moved to

Paraíba Paraíba ( , ; ) is a states of Brazil, state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and it is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Paraíba i ...

in 1976, living in Brejo Paraibano and, since 1988, in João Pessoa. She published several fiction and non-fiction works. Her debut in literature was in 2001, with the book ''Vasto Mundo.'' She won the 2009

in the category of children's literature with ''No risco do caracol'', in 2013, juvenile category, with ''Ouro dentro da cabeça'' and in 2015 in the categories romance and Book of the Year of Fiction, with ''Quarenta dias.'' In January 2017, she received the

for the book Outros Cantos, and for the same novel she won the

and the third place at the Jabuti Prize in November 2017.

Works

Novels

* ''Vasto Mundo'' 2001 * ''O Voo da Guará Vermelha'' – 2005 * ''Quarenta Dias'' - 2014 * ''Outros cantos'' - 2016 * ''Carta à Rainha Louca'' - 2019

Short stories and ''crônicas''

* ''Modo de Apanhar Pássaros à Mão'' - 2006 * ''A face serena'' - 2017 * ''Histórias nada sérias -2017'' * "Toda palavra dá samba" - 2024. Biblioteca Nacional award

Children's and young adult books

* ''O Arqueólogo do Futuro'' - 2006 * ''O Problema do Pato'' - 2007 * ''No Risco do Caracol'' - 2008 * ''Conversa de Passarinhos – Haikais para crianças'' de todas as idades (com Alice Ruiz) - 2008 * ''Histórias daqui e d'acolá'' – 2009 * ''Hai-Quintal - Haicais descobertos no quintal'' – 2011, * ''Ouro Dentro da Cabeça'' - 2012 * ''Jardim de Menino Poeta'' - 2012 * ''Vampiros e outros sustos'' - 2013 * ''Uma Aventura Animal'' - 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rezende, Maria Valéria Brazilian children's writers Brazilian women children's writers 21st-century Brazilian women writers 21st-century Brazilian novelists 1942 births Living people People from Santos, São Paulo Augustinian nuns 21st-century Brazilian short story writers Brazilian women novelists Brazilian women short story writers 20th-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns 21st-century Brazilian Roman Catholic nuns