| Charmaine Wilkerson | |
| Birth Place: | New York |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | Barnard College Stanford University |
| Occupation: | Author |
| Notable Works: | Black Cake (2022) |
Charmaine Wilkerson is a Caribbean-American journalist, writer, and author.[1] She is known for her debut novel, Black Cake, which was a New York Times Bestseller.
Wilkerson is originally from New York.[2] She has moved around a lot in her own life.[3] She spent much of her childhood living in Jamaica and some time as an adult living in Los Angeles.[4] She currently lives in Rome, where she has been living for over two decades.[5]
Both of Wilkerson's parents are Caribbean-American. Her mother was born and raised in Jamaica. Her father was a textile artist.[6]
Wilkerson is a graduate of Barnard College and Stanford University.
Wilkerson spent much of her career as a journalist. She began her reporting in California in a major agricultural area. For a period, she also worked for a United Nations agency with a focus on agriculture, poverty reduction, and hunger reduction.
As a writer, Wilkerson has published a number of short stories. Her debut novel, Black Cake, was released in 2022.
Her first novel was published in 2022. Black Cake was a New York Times bestseller, a Read With Jenna book club pick, and a Book of the Month club pick.[7]
Before the novel was even published, the TV rights were purchased by Oprah Winfrey's production company, Harpo Films, as the result of a bidding war. The on-screen adaptation was developed as a Hulu series, released in 2023.[8]
With her debut novel, Wilkerson wanted to relay the importance and ability of transferring culture and stories through food. Black cake is a Caribbean food that Wilkerson's own mother made, though they called it rum pudding. Wilkerson herself bakes the dessert once a year.