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Victoria Redel

Biography

Victoria Redel

Victoria Redel is a first-generation American author of four books of poetry and six books of fiction, most recently PARADISE (2022). Her latest novel is I AM YOU. Victoria’s work has been widely anthologized, awarded and translated in 10 languages. Her debut novel, LOVERBOY (2001), was adapted for a feature film directed by Kevin Bacon.

Redel’s short stories, poetry and essays have appeared in Granta, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Bomb, One Story, Salmagundi, O and NOON, among many others. She has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Fine Arts Work Center. Victoria is a professor in the graduate and undergraduate Creative Writing programs at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in New York and Utah. 

Books by Victoria Redel

I Am You
by Victoria Redel - Fiction, Historical Fiction

At eight years old, Gerta Pieters is forced to disguise herself as a boy and sent to work for a genteel Dutch family. When their brilliant and beautiful daughter, Maria, sees through Gerta’s ruse, she insists that Gerta accompany her to Amsterdam and help her enter the elite, male-dominated art world. While Maria rises in the ranks of society as a painting prodigy, Gerta makes herself invaluable in every way: confidante, muse, lover. But as Gerta steps into her own talents, their relationship fractures into a complex web of obsession and rivalry --- and the secrets they keep threaten to unravel everything.

Before Everything
by Victoria Redel - Fiction, Friendship, Women's Fiction

BEFORE EVERYTHING is a celebration of friendship and love between a group of women who have known each another since they were girls. They’ve faced everything together, from youthful sprees and scrapes to mid-life turning points. Now, as Anna, the group’s trailblazer and brightest spark, enters hospice, they gather to do what they’ve always done --- talk and laugh and help each other make choices and plans, this time in Anna’s rural Massachusetts home. Helen, Anna’s best friend and a celebrated painter, is about to remarry. The others face their own challenges --- Caroline with her sister’s mental health crisis; Molly with a teenage daughter’s rebellion; Ming with her law practice --- dilemmas with kids and work and love.