Danuta Gleed Literary Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 23 (2020) Winner
Zalika Reid-Benta
ザリカ・リード＝ベンタ
Zalika Reid-Benta
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Nationality
- Canada
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Toronto
Career
- Occupations
- Author
- Active Years
- 2019-
- Influenced By
- Toni Morrison, Jamaica Kincaid, Dorothy Allison, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nalo Hopkinson, Octavia Butler, Cherie Dimaline
- Nominations
- Trillium Book Award 2024 finalist (River Mumma), Toronto Book Awards 2020 (Frying Plantain), Trillium Book Awards 2020 (Frying Plantain), Forest of Reading Evergreen Award 2020 (Frying Plantain), Giller Prize 2019 longlist (Frying Plantain), White Pine Award 2021 (Frying Plantain)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Toronto | — | English and Cinema Studies | Honours BA | — | Canada |
| Columbia University | — | fiction | MFA | — | United States |
University of Toronto
English and Cinema Studies
Degree:
Honours BA
Country:
Canada
with a minor in Caribbean Studies
Columbia University
fiction
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Danuta Gleed Literary Award | Frying Plantain | — | The Writers' Union of Canada | 受賞 |
| 2020 | Kobo Emerging Writer Prize | Frying Plantain | — | Rakuten Kobo | 受賞 |
| 2019 | ByBlacks People's Choice Awards | — | Best Author | ByBlacks | 受賞 |
| 2023 | ByBlacks People's Choice Awards | — | Best Author | ByBlacks | 受賞 |
Danuta Gleed Literary Award
2019
Work:
Frying Plantain
Organization:
The Writers' Union of Canada
Result:
受賞
Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
2020
Work:
Frying Plantain
Organization:
Rakuten Kobo
Result:
受賞
ByBlacks People's Choice Awards
2019
Category:
Best Author
Organization:
ByBlacks
Result:
受賞
ByBlacks People's Choice Awards
2023
Category:
Best Author
Organization:
ByBlacks
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Frying Plantain
2019 linked short story collectionA 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.
Jamaican-Canadian identitycoming of age
River Mumma
2023 magical realist novelA 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.
Jamaican folkloremagical realismquarter-life crisis
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- vivid languageexploration of cultural identity
- Recurring Motifs
- Jamaican diasporaToronto's immigrant communitiescoming of age and self-discovery
Legacy
Recognized for bringing voices from Toronto's Black communities to literature, with multiple awards for her debut works.
Trivia
- Jamaican-Canadian.
- Grew up in Toronto's Eglinton West neighbourhood.