Book awards are announced throughout the year, but if you’re a fan of women’s fiction and enjoy supporting female and nonbinary authors, the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction is one to watch. These aren’t necessarily the books you’ll find on the New York Times Best Seller list or displayed on the end cap at your local bookstore or library. These are resounding works of fiction that honor the art and the craft of writing and are hand-picked by a jury of respected authors.
Who Was Carol Shields?
To comprehend the impact of the Carol Shields Prize, it’s important to understand her persona and legacy. Shields was an award-winning American-Canadian author and professor. She wrote more than 20 books, including novels, plays, essays, poetry and more. She also co-edited two anthologies of essays called Dropped Threads, where various women shared personal experiences that they had never told anyone before. Some of her most notable works include The Stone Diaries, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and Larry’s Party, an Orange Prize winner.
When it comes to supporting other female writers, Shields said it best herself when she quipped, “As a woman who has elected a writing life, I am interested in writing away the invisibility of women’s lives, looking at writing as an act of redemption. In order to do this, I need the companionship, the example, of other women who are writing.” Women supporting other women and non-binary authors is what the Carol Shields Prize is all about.
The History of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction
The inaugural Carol Shields Prize was awarded in 2023, 20 years after her death from complications related to breast cancer. Although she was just 68 when she passed, she accomplished so much during her life, and her legacy lives on through this prize as well as the mentorships that it provides to up-and-coming writers who are hand-picked by the year’s winner.
Fatimah Asghar was the first author to win the prize in 2023 for their debut novel When We Were Sisters. The prize comes with a substantial purse valued at $150,000, but the winners and finalists are also invited on a writers retreat. This generous award is designed to address some of the pay disparities between male and female authors. According to the organization, women and nonbinary writers have historically faced income disparities and remain underrepresented in major book award nominations. This prize is intended to help close that gap.
Throughout her career, Shields championed underrepresented voices, advocating for stories centered on women’s lives and day-to-day experiences — themes that have been marginalized in literature historically. The prize continues her legacy of generosity, mentorship and uplifting and amplifying the voices of other women writers. Enough about all the back story, let’s take a quick look at this year’s prize winner and finalists.
This Year’s Carol Shields Prize Winner
Hellions: Stories
by Julia Elliott
Penned by USC professor Julia Elliot, Hellions is a collection of genre-defying short stories submitted to literary journals over 10+ years. The collection features 11 short stories based on a kernel of truth and seasoned with magical realism, Southern gothic horror, folklore and more. Critics call her stories lush and feral and say her writing “crackles.” Let’s just say I am intrigued and am definitely adding this one to my TBR.
Short-Listed Finalists
Lion
by Sonya Walger
Lion explores a tumultuous yet loving relationship between a woman and her larger-than-life father. Told in the present tense, this globe-trotting adventure explores a wide spectrum of emotions as the woman grows from a child and teen to an adult and mother.
The White Hot
by Quiara Alegría Hudes
The White Hot is Hudes’ first work of fiction, but she’s no beginner. She won a Pulitzer Prize for her play Water by the Spoonful and is also a two-time Pulitzer finalist. Her latest work is an epistolary novel written as an extended letter between a mom and her daughter on her 18th birthday. The novel explores the painful complexities and emotions of motherhood, generational trauma, rage and immigration.
Cannon
by Lee Lai
Lee Lai is an award-winning Canadian-Australian author and cartoonist who’s racked up serious accolades since publishing her first graphic novel in 2021. Cannon explores the messy realities of working-class life, addressing themes like friendship, fractured family, elder care, grief and betrayal with expressive artwork and minimal dialogue. Lai is the first first trans and nonbinary person to win the Stella Prize.
A Guardian and a Thief: Oprah's Book Club
by Megha Majumdar
An Oprah Book Club Pick, A Guardian and a Thief is a dystopian cli-fi thriller set in Kolkata, India, as the protagonists Ma and Boomba battle poverty, starvation, climate change and disaster in a desperate attempt to survive. Jurors praise the book for its vivid imagery, developed characters and swooping plot-twist.
Longlist Nominees
1. The Morgue Keeper by Ruyan Meng
2. The Sea Gives Up the Dead: Stories by Molly Olguín
3. Audition by Katie Kitamura
4. Casualties of Truth by Lauren Francis-Sharma
5. Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards
6. Suddenly Light by Nina Dunic
7. Milktooth by Jaime Burnet
8. Sea, Poison by Caren Beilin
9. The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
If you’re interested in purchasing one of these books, you can find all shortlist and longlist titles in a special collection on Bookshop.org. You can also add all of these titles to your reading list by logging into Bookfinity and clicking the link at the top of the page.