Gayla Reid grew up in Armidale, New South Wales, and has lived predominantly in Vancouver, Canada, since 1967. She was educated at the University of New England, the Australian National University and the University of British Columbia. For many years, Reid was active in the Canadian women's movement and during the 1970s edited the national feminist newspaper, Kinesis. She also founded and co-edited Room of One's Own, a Canadian feminist literary quarterly, and taught women's studies at Vancouver Community College. Reid began writing in her forties, and has been a member of the Writers Union of Canada and PEN Canada.
She often returns to Australia, where she is based in Sydney, and uses Australian settings and themes in much of her writing. Reid's short stories have been published in Australian and Canadian journals and anthologies and she is a recipient of the Journey Prize. Reid has also worked as a plain language writer and editor in the area of public legal education and is co-author of Keeping on Track : an evaluation guide for community groups (1990) and Preparing Information on the Law : guidelines for writing, editing and designing (1985).
