Makeda Silvera was born in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 12 she emigrated to Canada.

She is co-founder and managing editor of the Sister Vision: Black Women and Women of Colour Press, the first press in North America dedicated to publishing writing by and for women of colour, in 1985.

She is the author of such books as Remembering G and Other Stories and Her Head a Village. She has edited numerous anthologies, including Piece of My Heart, the first lesbian-of-color anthology in North America; and Silenced, an oral history of Caribbean domestic workers in Canada.

Silvera has also been at the forefront of developing and publishing writing by women of color for over 12 years as managing editor and co-publisher of Sister Vision Press, she now lives in Toronto, Canada.