Maggie Rainey-Smith attended the Victoria University undergraduate poetry course and went on to complete the Victoria University undergraduate short fiction course and subsequently the Aoraki Polytechnic writing course and Whitireia Polytechnic’s advanced diploma in writing, completing a BA (majoring in English Literature) from Victoria University, in 2002.
Her first novel, the bestselling About Turns, was chosen by Whitcoulls as their first-ever New Zealand Guaranteed Great Read. She has had poetry, short stories and essays published in magazines, including Sport and The New Zealand Listener, and was short-listed for the Landfall Essay Prize in 2004. Reviewing About Turns, Kimberly Bartlett in the Herald on Sunday pointed out, ‘Rainey-Smith frees herself from the constraints of a great deal of women’s fiction by steering away from romantic love. Instead, she explores themes of friendship, infidelity, literature and class in New Zealand.’ New Idea called it an ‘engaging, poignant book’, while The New Zealand Herald described it as ‘evocative’ with some ‘classic comedy lines’.
She is the current Chair of the Wellington Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors, Membership Officer for the Friends of the Randell Cottage, and a guest book reviewer on Beatties Book Blog. She has her own blog (acurioushalfhour@wordpress.com) and website (www.maggieraineysmith.com).
