Zalika Reid-Benta

Zalika Reid-Benta
BornToronto, Ontario, Canada
OccupationAuthor
Alma materUniversity of Toronto, Columbia University
Notable worksFrying Plantain, River Mumma

Zalika Reid-Benta is a Canadian author.[1] Her debut novel River Mumma was a finalist for the 2024 Trillium Book Award[2] and received starred reviews from publications such as Publishers Weekly.[3] It has been listed as one of the best fiction books of 2023 on numerous platforms, including CBC Books.[4] The novel is a "magical realist story" inspired by Jamaican folklore. The main character, Alicia Gale, is a young Black woman having a quarter-life crisis, while adventuring through the streets of Toronto, Ontario.[5]

Reid-Benta's debut short story collection Frying Plantain was nominated and won numerous awards.[6] The book is a collection of linked short stories centering on the coming of age of Kara Davis, a young Jamaican-Canadian girl growing up in the Eglinton West neighbourhood of Toronto.[7]

  1. ^ Ryan B. Patrick, "Why Zalika Reid-Benta wrote a short story collection that looks at growing up young and black in Toronto". CBC Books, July 9, 2019.
  2. ^ "Zalika Reid-Benta and Britta Badour among finalists for 2024 Trillium Book Awards". CBC Books. May 7, 2024.
  3. ^ "River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta". www.publishersweekly.com. November 22, 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  4. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-best-canadian-fiction-of-2023-1.7044119 [bare URL]
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Why Zalika Reid-Benta wrote a short story collection that looks at growing up young and black in Toronto Social Sharing". July 12, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  7. ^ Deborah Dundas, "Zalika Reid-Benta's debut book puts midtown Toronto on the page at last". Toronto Star, June 7, 2019.