Riley Redgate

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Riley Redgate
Born
Ríoghnach Robinson
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
Alma materKenyon College (economics)
Period2016–present
GenreYoung adult fiction
Notable awardsLambda Literary Award for Young Adult Literature (2026)
Website
rileyredgate.com

Riley Redgate is the pen name of Ríoghnach Robinson (/ˈriːənɒk/), an American author of young adult fiction.[1]

Biography

Robinson was raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She attended Richard J. Reynolds High School,[1] where she began her first novel, Seven Ways We Lie.[2] She is an alumna of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where she majored in economics,[1] graduating in 2016.[3] Her debut novel was published before she graduated.[2] While at Kenyon, Robinson won the college's James E. Michael Playwriting Award for her play Mourning Sickness.[2]

Robinson worked from Chicago as writing apprentice for the satirical media outlet The Onion.[4][5] Her novels are Seven Ways We Lie (2016),[6] Noteworthy (2017),[7] Final Draft (2018),[8][9] and Look No Further (2023),[10] all published by Amulet, an imprint of Abrams Books; Alone Out Here (2022), published by Disney-Hyperion;[11] and Come Home to My Heart (2026), published by Union Square & Co.[12] Come Home to My Heart won the 2026 Lambda Literary Award for Young Adult Literature.[13][14]

Robinson is bisexual, of half-Irish and half-Chinese descent, and the characters in her novels similarly lie "in the middle of a spectrum rather than out at the ends".[15]

Pen name

Robinson choose the pseudonym Riley Redgate when she was 16 years old, brainstorming it with the help of other members of a writers' forum. Her composition criteria consisted of three things: she wanted to keep her real initials; something gender neutral; and something easily pronounceable.[16]

Works

  • Seven Ways We Lie (2016)
  • Noteworthy (2017)
  • Final Draft (2018)
  • Alone Out Here (2022)
  • Look No Further (2023) (as Ríoghnach Robinson, with Siofra Robinson)
  • Come Home to My Heart (2026)

Discography

As Ríoghnach Robinson

  • Tattoos (2013)[17]
  • Somebody Say Something (2014)[18]
  • two-quarter songs (2014)[19]
  • Noteworthy OST (2016)[20]
  • goodnight goodbye (2016)[21]
  • quarantine music (2020)[22]

As Catholique

  • Season's Feelings (2022)[23]

References

  1. Schehl, Pam (May 9, 2016). "Kenyon student-author visits MVHS". Mount Vernon News.
  2. K. Norcross Watts (July 14, 2016). "Seven Ways We Lie explores 'grimy' adolescence". JournalNow. Winston-Salem Journal.
  3. "Class of 2016: Plans for After Graduation". Kenyon College.
  4. 'Riley Redgate' on WriteOnCon
  5. 'Contact the Onion' (archived on Wayback Machine) on The Onion
  6. "Seven Ways We Lie". Kirkus Reviews. December 8, 2015. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  7. "Noteworthy". Kirkus Reviews. March 6, 2017. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  8. "Final Draft". Kirkus Reviews. April 30, 2018. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  9. Heppermann, Christine (August 6, 2018). "'Final Draft' by Chicago's Riley Redgate leads this week's Y.A. fiction roundup". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  10. "Look No Further". Kirkus Reviews. June 21, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  11. "Alone Out Here". Kirkus Reviews. April 5, 2022. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  12. "Come Home to My Heart". Kirkus Reviews. April 19, 2025. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  13. Strangman, Alice (June 15, 2026). "2026 Lambda Literary Awards Winners". Locus Online. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  14. Schaub, Michael (June 15, 2026). "Winners of the 2026 Lambda Awards Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 16, 2026.
  15. Redgate, Riley (2016). "On rounding". Diversity in YA. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  16. 'Audio Name Pronunciation with Riley Redgate' on TeachingBooks.net
  17. "Tattoos, by Ríoghnach Robinson". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  18. "Somebody Say Something, by Ríoghnach Robinson". Bandcamp. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  19. "two-quarter songs, by Ríoghnach Robinson". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  20. "Noteworthy OST, by Ríoghnach Robinson". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  21. "goodnight goodbye, by Ríoghnach Robinson". Bandcamp. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  22. "quarantine music, by Ríoghnach Robinson". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  23. "Season's Feelings, by catholique". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 15, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.