Zalika Reid-Benta facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zalika Reid-Benta
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| Born | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Author |
| Alma mater | University of Toronto, Columbia University |
| Notable works | Frying Plantain, River Mumma |
Zalika Reid-Benta is a talented Canadian author. She writes amazing stories! Her first novel, River Mumma, was a finalist for a big award called the Trillium Book Award in 2024. Her first collection of short stories, Frying Plantain, won and was nominated for many other awards.
River Mumma got great reviews from places like Publishers Weekly. Many platforms, including CBC Books, said it was one of the best fiction books of 2023. This novel is a "magical realist story" inspired by Jamaican folk tales. It follows a young Black woman named Alicia Gale. She is having a tough time in her early twenties while exploring the streets of Toronto, Ontario.
Frying Plantain is a collection of connected short stories. They are all about a Jamaican-Canadian girl named Kara Davis growing up. The stories show her journey as she gets older in the Eglinton West area of Toronto.
Contents
Growing Up and Learning
Reid-Benta grew up in Toronto. When she was a child, she loved books by Judy Blume. She also enjoyed movies like Now and Then and My Girl. However, she noticed that the characters in these stories didn't look like her. Even as a kid, she knew she wanted to write her own stories.
Her Education Journey
She went to the University of Toronto. There, she earned a special degree in English and Cinema studies. She also studied Caribbean history and culture. Later, she went to Columbia University to get her Master of Fine Arts degree. She focused on writing fiction there.
In 2017, she attended a special writing program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She was also a writing fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in 2019. Before her first book came out, she learned from famous writers. These included Victor LaValle, George Elliott Clarke, Janice Galloway and Olive Senior.
What Inspires Her Stories
Zalika Reid-Benta has shared what inspires her writing.
Favorite Authors
In an interview for the Giller Prize, Reid-Benta said that Toni Morrison is one of her biggest heroes in writing. She mentioned that reading Morrison's amazing use of language makes her want to write as well as she can.
She also told Vannessa Barnier that other books inspired her. These include Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid, Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, and Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche.
For her novel River Mumma, Reid-Benta spoke with the Library Journal. She shared that Nalo Hopkinson, Octavia Butler, and Cherie Dimaline are some of her favorite writers. She loves their science fiction and fantasy stories.
Awards and Recognition
Zalika Reid-Benta has won several important awards for her books.
- 2023 ByBlacks People's Choice Awards for Best Author
- 2019 ByBlacks People’s Choice Awards for Best Author
- 2019 Danuta Gleed Literary Award for Frying Plantain
- 2020 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Frying Plantain
Her novel River Mumma was a finalist for the 2024 Trillium Book Award. Her book Frying Plantain was also a finalist for several awards in 2020. These included the Toronto Book Awards and the Trillium Book Awards. It was also nominated for the 2020 Forest of Reading® Evergreen Award. In 2019, it was on the longlist for the Giller Prize. It was also nominated for the 2021 White Pine Award.
