Maria Reva was born in Ukraine, and lived in Kherson until she was 7 years old. In 1997 Reva moved to Canada with her family and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4] She is an MFA graduate of the University of Texas.[1]Good Citizens Need Not Fear, her debut collection, was based in part on family stories of life in Soviet-era Ukraine.[5] In 2025, her debut novel Endling was published.[6][7]
Apart from writing fiction, Reva writes librettos for operas working with various composers, including her sister, Anna Pidgorna.[1]
2019: National Magazine Award for Fiction, for the short story "Unsound",[11] republished as the novelette "Little Rabbit" in the collection Good Citizens Need Not Fear[12]
Good Citizens Need Not Fear was considered for several awards:
