Rhea Galanaki was born in Heraklion, Crete, and has studied History and Archeology in Athens. Very widely known for her 8 novels (The Life of Ismail Ferik Pasha 1989, I shall sign as Louis 1993, Eleni, or Nobody 1998, The Century of Labyrinths 2002, Silent, deep Sea 2006, Judas’ Fires and Oedipus’Ashes 2009, The Ultimate Humiliation 2015, Emmanouil and Ekaterini 2022), she has also published books of short stories, poetry, essays and articles. Three of her novels have been adapted for stage. Her books have been translated in 19 languages.

At 2022 Rhea Galanaki was the first Greek woman novelist ever decorated by the President of Greek Republic with the Gold Cross of Beneficence for her Contribution to Greek Letters. For the same reason she was honored by the State Grand Prize for Letters at 2024, the highest distinction for Letters in Greece. At 2019 she won The Balkanika Literary Award. At 1994 UNESCO included Rhea Galanaki’s first novel (1989) at UNESCO’s Collection of Representative Works.

Rhea Galanaki has received at 1999 The Greek State Prize for Novel, at 2003 The Academy of Athens Prize for Novel, at 2005 The Greek State Prize for Short Stories and at 2006 The National Book Center – Readers Prize.

Also, at 1999 a novel of her was included in the final three candidates for the European Prize “Aristeion” and at 2017 another one was shortlisted for the  French Award Mediterranean Prize for Foreign Literature.

Reading Greece: Rhea Galanaki on Delving into the Family Past as a Way to Better Understand Oneself