The longlist for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, given annually to an outstanding work of fiction by a woman or nonbinary author in the U.S. or Canada, has been revealed.
Eleanor Catton was nominated for her novel Birnam Wood, which was also a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the Giller Prize. C Pam Zhang’s Land of Milk and Honey made the longlist, along with Rebecca Makkai’s I Have Some Questions for You.
Claudia Dey’s Daughter made the longlist, alongside V. V. Ganeshananthan’s Brotherless Night, Kim Coleman Foote’s Coleman Hill, Lisa Alward’s Cocktail, Nicole Cuffy’s Dances, and Aisha Abdel Gawad’s Between Two Moons.
Also nominated for the award were Loot by Tania James, You Were Watching From the Sand by Juliana Lamy, A History of Burning by Janika Oza, A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power, Chrysalis by Anuja Varghese, and The Future,written by Catherine Leroux and translated by Susan Ouriou.
Jen Sookfong Lee, the chair of the prize’s jury, said in a statement, “All the authors have written remarkable works of fiction that illuminate who we are—our histories, flaws, ambitions, and loves—and who we could be.”
The Carol Shields Prize, named after the late Canadian author of The Stone Diaries, was first awarded last year, to Fatimah Asghar for When We Were Sisters. The shortlist for this year’s award will be announced on April 9, with the winner—who will receive a $150,000 cash prize—revealed on May 13.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
