The Carol Shields Prize Shortlist Has Been Announced

The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, the world’s largest literary prize for Canadian and American women and non-binary authors, has whittled its list of nominees down from 15 to five authors.

The five nominees, who were announced on April 21, include authors Julia Elliott (Hellions), Quiara Alegría Hudes (The White Hot), Lee Lai (Cannon), Megha Majumdar (A Guardian and a Thief, a book that also has Oprah’s seal of approval) and Sonya Walger (Lion).

Unfortunately, Canadian authors Amanda Leduc (Wild Life), Nina Dunic (Suddenly Light) and Jaime Burnet (Milktooth)—all of whom made the prize's longlist for their work—did not make the shortlist.

There is still some love for Canada, however. Shortlist nominee Lee Lai, an Australian-born cartoonist, has been living in Montreal since 2016. Cannon is her second graphic novel, and centres on a queer 20-something Chinese woman living in Montreal in 2017.

Cannon was praised by the jury for its emotional detail and tender investigation of cultural identity, betrayal and regret.

Lai is no stranger to awards. Her debut graphic novel, Stone Fruit, won the Lambda Literary Award for Graphic Novel, and the Cartoonist Studio Prize, among others.

The nominees were selected by the prize’s jury for this year, which was headed by author Carmen Maria Machado, and included writers Ivan Coyote, Cherie Dimaline, Chitra Divakaruni and Deesha Philyaw.

On June 1, the shortlisted authors will perform a public reading at Lula Lounge in Toronto. The prize winner, who will take home the US$150,000 purse, will be announced during a live event the following evening in Toronto.

Carol Shields was born in the U.S. but spent most of her adult life in Canada, eventually gaining Canadian citizenship. She’s best known for her 1993 novel, The Stone Diaries, which won a Pulitzer and the Governor General’s Award.

The award that bears her name handed out its first award in 2023. Last year, Whitby, Ont.-based poet and author Canisia Lubrin took home the award for her novel, Code Noir.