Zalika Reid-Benta

Zalika Reid-Benta is a Canadian writer,[1] whose debut short story collection Frying Plantain has been nominated and won numerous awards.[2] 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, Ontario.[3]

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

Early life

Reid-Benta grew up in Toronto.[4] As a child she enjoyed books written by Judy Blume and movies like Now and Then and My Girl, but she didn't see herself represented in these stories.[4] Even as a child she knew she wanted to write.[5]

She graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours BA in English and Cinema studies and with a minor in Caribbean Studies.[6] She then received an MFA from Columbia University with a concentration in fiction.[6] In 2017 she attended the Writers Studio at the Banff Center for Arts and Creativity and was a 2019 John Gardener Fiction Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference.[6] Prior to the publication of her book, she was mentored by writers Victor LaValle, George Elliott Clarke, Janice Galloway and Olive Senior.[3]

Inspirations

In a Scotiabank Giller Prize Spotlight interview, Reid-Benta describes Toni Morrison as being one of her literary heroes and mentions that “reading what she does with language, definitely motivates me to write the best way I can.”[4]

When interviewed by Vannessa Barnier, Reid-Benta also describes that Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid, Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison, and Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche were inspirations.[7]

Currently, Reid-Benta is writing a "magical realist story" inspired by Jamaican folklore. The main character is a young Black woman having a quarter-life crisis, while adventuring through the streets of Toronto.[6]

Accolades

Reid-Benta has received several major awards for her work, including:

Frying Plantain was shortlisted for the 2020 Toronto Book Awards.[11] and for the 2020 Trillium Awards.[12] It was a longlisted nominee for the 2019 Scotia Bank Giller Prize.[4] and it was nominated for the 2021 White Pine Award.[13]

References
  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. "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.
  3. Deborah Dundas, "Zalika Reid-Benta's debut book puts midtown Toronto on the page at last". Toronto Star, June 7, 2019.
  4. "Scotiabank Giller Prize Spotlight: Zalika Reid-Benta". Scotiabank Giller Prize. 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  5. "Zalika Reid-Benta". New College - University of Toronto. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  6. "Zalika Reid-Benta writing novel titled River Mumma, to be published in 2023". CBC Books. Retrieved 2021-07-20.
  7. "Interview: Zalika Reid-Benta on Banff, Process and Vulnerability". Queen Mob's Tea House. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  8. "Zalika Reid-Benta wins the ByBlacks 2019 People's Choice Award for Authors!". Transatlantic Agency. 2020-01-21. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  9. "Danuta Gleed Literary Award". The Writers' Union of Canada. 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  10. "2020 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize Winners". YouTube.
  11. "Desmond Cole & Zalika Reid-Benta among finalists for $10K Toronto Book Award | CBC Books". CBC. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  12. "Seth, Téa Mutonji & Zalika Reid-Benta among finalists for $20K Trillium Book Award for Ontario books | CBC Books". CBC. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  13. "Here are the 2021 White Pine Award finalists: 10 great Canadian books for readers in Grades 9-12 | CBC Books". CBC. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
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