Zalika Reid-Benta

Zalika Reid-Benta is a Canadian author. Her debut novel ''River Mumma'' is shortlisted for the 2024 Trillium Book Award and received starred reviews from publications such as ''Publishers Weekly''. It has been listed as one of the best fiction books of 2023 on numerous platforms, including CBC Books. 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.

Reid-Benta's debut short story collection ''Frying Plantain'' was nominated and won numerous awards. 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. Provided by Wikipedia