Author

Charmaine Wilkerson

Primary Agent

Madeleine Milburn

+44 (0)20 7499 7550

International Rights

Valentina Paulmichl

+44 (0)20 7499 7550

Film & TV

Hannah Ladds

+44 (0)20 7499 7550

Information

Biography

Charmaine Wilkerson is the author of Black Cake, a New York Times-bestselling novel adapted for the screen, and Good Dirt, a USA Today bestseller. Originally from New York, she has lived in Jamaica and Italy, formerly working as a television journalist and award-winning writer of short fiction. The original series based on Black Cake was produced for Hulu by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, Marissa Jo Cerar and Kapital Entertainment, and has aired on Hulu and Disney+.

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Books

Featured Book

When Ebby Freeman travels to France to take a three-month hiatus from her complicated home life, the last person she expects to find is her ex-fiancé Henry, with his new girlfriend in tow.

Nearly twenty years earlier, the Freemans were the only African American family living in a wealthy coastal enclave in Connecticut when armed robbers invaded their home and tragedy changed their lives forever.

Then, just as Ebby thought she had a new chance at happiness, her storybook romance with Henry fell apart.

Now, this unexpected encounter with Henry will force Ebby to reckon with her past and to think on the other loss her family suffered that day – the destruction of a beloved stoneware jar crafted by an enslaved ancestor and passed down through the generations. A piece that might hold not only her family history, but also the key to reclaiming her future.

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Black Cake

Charmaine Wilkerson

Press and Reviews

“Charmaine's writing is subtle and lyrical”

– Beth Morrey, bestselling author of Saving Missy Carmichael

“Charmaine Wilkerson transports you across the decades and the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters.”

– Taylor Jenkins Reid, bestselling author of Carrie Soto is Back

“A remarkable exploration of family bonds, grief, heartbreak, friendship, and the deep scars of slavery and racism... Wilkerson’s prose is succinct yet richly evocative, masterfully delving…”

– Abi Daré, bestselling author of The Girl with the Louding Voice

“A story as meaningful as it is delicious. At turns delightfully juicy and then stunningly wise, Black Cake is a winner.”

– Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Daisy Jones and The Six

“An extremely assured debut which pulls in threads and echoes from across the Caribbean diaspora to deliver a rich, complex and really satisfying novel.”

– Alison Finch, BBC Radio 4

“The scenes are so well drawn I could almost taste the cake. My heart broke and was put back together. Bravo.”

– Nikki May, author of Wahala

“A special, beautifully written novel that's as rich and intoxicating as the Jamaican rum cake of its title.”

– Good Housekeeping

“A roiling soup of family secrets, big lies, great loves, bright colours and strong smells.”

– The New York Times