Gemma Reeves

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Photograph: William Clinton Ogbebor

Books

Agent: Seren Adams

Seren Adams

SAdams@unitedagents.co.uk

Books

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Gemma Reeves is a writer and teacher who lives and works in London. She graduated with distinction from the MA in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University and holds an MA in Twentieth Century Literature from Goldsmiths. She has co-written non-fiction books and her fiction has been shortlisted and longlisted for various prizes including: the V.S. Pritchett Short Story Prize, Bridport Prize, Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, Bath Short Story Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award. VICTORIA PARK, Gemma's debut novel, was published by Allen & Unwin in 2021 and simultaneously in audio by Bolinda, and translated into Italian by Atlantide in 2022.

Her second novel, MAMELE, will be published by Borough Press on 1st August 2024.

Praise for MAMELE (2024)

‘A haunting novel, deeply felt and melodically composed, which asks the question: can we escape the fate we are assigned by family? Overwhelming and seductive.’ Lucie Elven, author of The Weak Spot

‘I absolutely adored the sensual journey Mamele took me on. Gemma’s prose is immersive. It is such a personal story, yet, it feels like a journey of discovery – as Edie tells us her story, she is discovering the truth of it for the first time. Mamele is fresh and daring.’ Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding

‘Mamele is one of the best books I’ve read in a while – one of those rare, perfect novels where I found myself hurrying back to it but also dreading its end. The characters are alive, gleaming with truth and nuance. The prose is deft, moving, full of surprise. A real triumph; it deserves to soar.’ Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory

'Mamele won my heart. A complex story about motherhood, inheritance and the things we're willing to forsake in the name of desire. Reeves' prose is muscular and moving – a triumph.' Amy Twigg, author of Spoiled Creatures

Praise for VICTORIA PARK (2021)

‘[Reeves is] a writer who exudes a generous playful intelligence, such bright, wise wit. Everything on the page is alive, each paragraph a fresh adventure - her writing gives a pure and rare pleasure.’ Samantha Harvey, author of The Western Wind

‘With shades of Elizabeth Strout, Gemma Reeves's riveting portrait of intertwining lives in London is what makes literary fiction great. Tackling life moments we can all recognise and relate to (from identity to longing), it's a portrait of a community underscored with genuine warmth for humans.’ Francesca Brown, Stylist

‘A complete joy of a debut, bright, observational and incredibly intimate, this book has lodged itself in my heart. Take twelve independent yet linked stories over twelve months about people who are connected to a London park community. The focus changes with each month, allowing individual stories to shine, yet they add up to a vibrantly wonderful whole. Gemma Reeves is beautifully eloquent, she has the ability with a few words, to give you admittance to someone's soul. While she creates penetrating access to each person, there isn't always a conclusion, instead life carries on, suggesting potential pathways. I fell in love with this powerfully blended infusion of life. The variety of characters, in age, personality, and beliefs crackle with energy. A new character might wander in for a few moments and then star in the next tale. Some connections may be obvious and li nger, others lightly touch before moving on. The stories themselves tug at heartstrings and encourage thoughts to roam, the ending is simply divine and brought tears to my eyes. Thought-provoking and emotionally intelligent, Victoria Park slips with glorious ease onto our LoveReading Star Books list and is a Liz Pick of the Month, it really is very special indeed.’ Liz Robinson, Love Reading

‘I really love multiple-voice novels with interlinking components that feel like they could be short stories. Victoria Park is one such. Mona and Wolfie have lived near the park for most of their lives, and we meet the other local residents through them. A beautiful read about a diverse community.’ Nina Pottell, Prima

‘I absolutely loved Victoria Park. It's a stunning portrayal of a London community, where moments of heartbreak, sympathy and joy cast deep reverberations. A triumph of compassion and redemption, the lives of the characters are so finely observed, they might be our own. It reminded me of Elizabeth Strout and Jennifer Egan, and I know I'll be thinking about Wolfie and Mona for months to come.’ Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory

‘Hugely empathetic, utterly absorbing and beautifully told, Victoria Park really captures something so bittersweet and so true about the struggles and joys that ebb and flow through all of the relationships that hold us together.’ Naomi Ishiguro, author of Escape Routes

‘A book that drew me in with its charming concept only to reveal its darker side at the last minute. I was thoroughly enthralled with the inhabitants of Victoria Park, and couldn't help myself from curtain twitching into each one of their intriguing, moving, and complex lives. A fantastic book, and a wonderful achievement.’ Nick Bradley, author of The Cat and the City

‘A kaleidoscopic debut’ Madeleine Feeny, Mail on Sunday

‘The month of October finds ex-deli owner Wolfie smoking salmon for a party to celebrate 65 years of marriage to Mona. She is a Kindertransport survivor, like Wolfie himself, and if she is half lost to dementia, the half that remains is smart as paint. […] [The] lives of Wolfie and Mona play out alongside those of their neighbours around Hackney's 'People's Park'. All London life is in these pages, with human kindness, IVF, LGBT, and an acid attack, leading up to a touching ending. An exciting debut.’ Rose Shepherd, Saga Magazine

‘A sharply observed debut novel that looks at the lives of 12 people over the course of a year. Big themes, such as dementia and the trials of IVF, are told with great sensitivity and insight.’ Zoe West, Woman's Weekly

‘These intersecting lives hum with humanity, community, hope, light and darkness all driven forward in crisp, clean prose.’ Kate Sawyer, author of The Stranding

Fiction

Publication Details	Notes
MAMELE 2024 The Borough Press	‘When my mother washed my hair she crooned, mamele, mamele, into my ear. Little mother, meaning little daughter, meaning you’re a good girl, Edie.’ Edie lives in a crumbling country house in Broadstairs with her partner Joanna. They have spent over a decade together since the death of Harry, the third member of their polyamorous marriage. It’s a quiet, comfortable existence – but conversations about the mother who abandoned her have recently awoken in Edie feelings she long thought buried. As Edie’s memories unspool – childhood days among the gossiping housewives of the mansion block, intense adolescent love affairs, clandestine nights in London clubs – she is forced to confront her ghosts and piece together the various parts of herself, as a queer woman and the daughter of a Jewish émigré. Now in her early fifties, she wonders whether there is still time to become the woman she once yearned to be. In MAMELE, Gemma Reeves writes with extraordinary deftness about unconventional families, cultural inheritance and separation, loneliness and aching desire.
VICTORIA PARK 2021 Allen & Unwin	A playful, lyrical novel about otherness, change, and the gap between generations in a London community. Mona and Wolfie have lived on Victoria Park for over fifty years. Now, on the eve of their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary, they must decide how to navigate Mona's declining health. Bookended by the touching exploration of their love, Victoria Park follows the disparate lives of twelve people over the course of a single year. Told from their multiple perspectives in episodes which capture feelings of alienation and connection, the lingering memory of an acid attack in the park sends ripples of unease through the community. By the end of the novel, their carefully interwoven tales create a rich tapestry of resilience, love and loss. With sharply observed insight into contemporary urban life, and characters we take to our hearts, Gemma Reeves has written a moving, uplifting debut which reflects those universal experiences that connect us all.

Publication Details

Notes

MAMELE

2024

The Borough Press

‘When my mother washed my hair she crooned, mamele, mamele, into my ear. Little mother, meaning little daughter, meaning you’re a good girl, Edie.’

Edie lives in a crumbling country house in Broadstairs with her partner Joanna. They have spent over a decade together since the death of Harry, the third member of their polyamorous marriage. It’s a quiet, comfortable existence – but conversations about the mother who abandoned her have recently awoken in Edie feelings she long thought buried.

As Edie’s memories unspool – childhood days among the gossiping housewives of the mansion block, intense adolescent love affairs, clandestine nights in London clubs – she is forced to confront her ghosts and piece together the various parts of herself, as a queer woman and the daughter of a Jewish émigré. Now in her early fifties, she wonders whether there is still time to become the woman she once yearned to be.

In MAMELE, Gemma Reeves writes with extraordinary deftness about unconventional families, cultural inheritance and separation, loneliness and aching desire.

VICTORIA PARK

2021

Allen & Unwin

A playful, lyrical novel about otherness, change, and the gap between generations in a London community.

Mona and Wolfie have lived on Victoria Park for over fifty years. Now, on the eve of their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary, they must decide how to navigate Mona's declining health. Bookended by the touching exploration of their love, Victoria Park follows the disparate lives of twelve people over the course of a single year. Told from their multiple perspectives in episodes which capture feelings of alienation and connection, the lingering memory of an acid attack in the park sends ripples of unease through the community. By the end of the novel, their carefully interwoven tales create a rich tapestry of resilience, love and loss.

With sharply observed insight into contemporary urban life, and characters we take to our hearts, Gemma Reeves has written a moving, uplifting debut which reflects those universal experiences that connect us all.