Regina Rheda is a Brazilian-born writer who lives in the United States. She is known for her prose fiction concerning urbanism, transnational migration, class conflicts, and animal rights. Before becoming a writer, she had worked with film, video and television, and she had been awarded many prizes as a writer-director of short films and videos. She earned the Jabuti prize for literature with her debut collection of short storiesArca sem Noé - Histórias do Edifício Copan, which was translated by Adria Frizzi and REYoung as Stories From the Copan Building, and included in the volume First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix. The most substantial segment in this volume is the title piece, a novel of discovery translated by David Coles and volume editor Charles A. Perrone. Rheda's book Humana Festa, A Novel has been considered a pioneer work of fiction for having veganism and the abolition of all animal exploitation as a guiding theme. Analysts have underlined originality, wit and irony in Rheda's style. Her work has interested scholars of Inter-American literature, Latin American literature, literature of Brazil, women writers, post-humanism, ecocriticism, animal studies, and veganism.
Translation of her works into English and other languages
First World Third Class and Other Tales of the Global Mix. Contents include Arca sem Noé - Histórias do Edifício Copan, the novel First World Third Class, and the short stories "The Enchanted Princess," "The Sanctuary," and "The Front." Austin: University of Texas Press, 2005. Translation: Charles A. Perrone, Adria Frizzi, REYoung and David Coles.
"Miss Carminda and the Prince." Translation of the short story "Dona Carminda e o príncipe." Journal Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism. Smith College/Indiana University Press, Fall 2004. Translation: Lydia Billon.
This story was also published in Croatian at Sic Literary Journal.
"The Sanctuary." Translation of the short story "O Santuário." Republished in the anthology Luso-American Literature: Writings by Portuguese-Speaking Authors in North America. Rutgers University Press, Summer 2011. Translation: Charles A. Perrone.
Humana Festa, a Novel. Columbus: Zip/EP, 2012. Translation: Charles A. Perrone. Ebook and print..
Original works in Portuguese
Novels and story collections
Arca sem Noé - Histórias do Edifício Copan.. Rio: Record, 2010.. The first edition appeared in 1994.
Pau-de-arara classe turística.. First ed.: Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1996. New edition in ebook format in 2013..
Amor sem-vergonha.. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 1997..
Livro que vende.. São Paulo: Altana, 2003..
Humana festa.. São Paulo: Record, 2008..
Children's book
A astrobolha de sabão. Regina Rheda. Ana Mara Abreu. São Paulo: Editora Rios, 1983.
"O santuário.". In Pátria estranha. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2002.
"Dona Carminda e o príncipe.". In Histórias dos tempos de escola. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria, 2002.
"A frente.". In Mais trinta mulheres que estão fazendo a nova literatura brasileira. Rio: Record, 2005.
"The Sanctuary.". In Luso-American Literature: Writings by Portuguese-Speaking Authors in North America. Rutgers University Press, Summer 2011. Translation: Charles A. Perrone.
"O mau vizinho.". In Contrapuntos II. E-book. Digitus Indie Publishers, 2014.
