Reacting to The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction Shortlist for 2026

Added: 2026-05-04

[00:00:04]Hello and welcome to Supposedly Fun. My name is Greg. I'm here today to look at the short list for the Carol Shields Prize for fiction. This is a prize for women and non-binary authors in North America. It's been a very interesting prize to follow since it was created not that long ago, and I have certainly enjoyed doing that. So, that's what I'm here to do today. Before we get started, I want to note that this is a big week for book prize announcements because tomorrow, as I'm filming this, we will be getting the Women's Prize for fiction short list for 2026.

[00:00:39]And in two weeks, we will be getting the announcement of the Puliter Prize for fiction 2026. And I have a prediction video for that. Uh the Pulit surprise.

[00:00:50]I'll link have it linked in the description box down below. And I will also have my video where I reacted to the long list of the women's prize for fiction short list and the women's prize for non-fiction short list. I'm sorry, women's prize for fiction long list and women's prize for non-fiction short list. Uh all down there with some other fun things. I will also have links to all of the books that we're going to talk about. This time around, I'm not going to spend as much time diving into the plots of these books. So, if you want more information about a title, there will be links to bookshop.org down below. You can go, you can get the full plot description or you could watch the long list reaction that I did because I talk about the ent I read the plot and basically decide if I wanted to read the books that were unfamiliar to me. But uh you can go to bookshop, you can get the information there. You could also purchase a copy of the book there. That would slightly help me out. And uh Bookshop also supports independent bookstores. Speaking of, you could also find a copy at your local independent bookstore or order it. I'm wearing a t-shirt from Chapter 1 Books in Hamilton, Montana today. It's a great bookstore. Or you could support your local library. I have at least one of these books requested from my library to purchase. Supporting your local library is always, always, always, always a good thing to do. Now, for the Carol Shields Prize, I will quickly run through the books that made it onto this short list, and then we will talk about each of them a little more in depth. And then at the end we will talk about the books I'm surprised to see not on the short list and maybe we'll speculate a little bit about what might win. So that's the form we're going to take. And for reference, the winner of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction gets a pretty hefty cash prize. It's $150,000 US and they also got a five night stay at an island in and the finalists received $12,500.

[00:02:46]Uh, the winner is going to be announced on June 2nd, I believe. Let me just fact check that. Yes, the winner will be announced on June 2nd at a ceremony in Toronto, Canada. And the jury is chaired by Carmen Maria Machado. And it includes Disha Filia, who wrote loud noise, who wrote My Beloved, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, and who has a book, a new book coming out later this year called The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman. Uh, also on the jury is Ivan Coyote, Sheri Demolene, and Chetra Devakaruni. All right, without further ado, let's run through the books that are on the short list and then we'll talk about them a little bit more in depth. So the finalists are Helens by Julia Elliot from Tin House, The White Hot by Kiara Aliggria Hudz published by One World, Canon by Lee Li published by Drawn and Quarterly, A Guardian and a Thief by Mega Majunar published by Mlend and Stewart in Canada and Kop in the USA and Lion by Sonia Walder published by New York Review of Books. Now, there are some, I think, startling omissions from this list. We will get into that in a little bit, but I want to start off by looking at these books in particular.

[00:04:03]So, what we will do is for each book, the jury released a citation. We'll read the citation and I'll give you just a tiny bit like maybe the ending of the blurb about the book and then we'll kind of talk about it. So for Heliens by Julia Elliot, the jury citation says, "This eerie, eclectic, genre leaping collection takes no half measures. Every sentence of Helens crackles or crawls. Here, human folly moves against a backdrop of horror and magic. There's folklore in these stories and southern gothic horror and surrealism and fantasy, and at their center, a thread of uneasy bodily realism. The work evokes writers like Angela Carter, Darthy Allison, Gloria Naylor, and Kelly Link. But for all its wildness, there is tremendous control.

[00:04:51]Elliot is a gifted and thrilling writer.

[00:04:55]I probably would not have predicted that this one would go from the long list to the short list, but thinking about it now, it makes terrific sense. This really sounds like a book that Carmen Maria Machado in particular would really be a fan of and would probably advocate for. Uh Carmen Maria Machado also blurbed the cover of the book. Like she has a blurb that's on the jacket design of this book. So that really speaks that this is a book that she would be pulling for. Your brief summary of the plot of this book is with exuberance, ferocity, and astounding imagination, Julia Elliot's Helens jumps from the occult to the comic, from the horrific to the wondrous in 11 stories of earthbound characters who long for the otherworldly.

[00:05:44]So, you can gather from the jury citation and from that that this is a short story collection. And I I I like a book prize that puts forward short story collections because I'm a fan of short story collections. I know not everybody is, but I am. I actually had a copy of this book, but apparently I I got rid of it somewhere along the way. I wish I had held on to it long enough for it to have made the long list and now the short list because I think the reason I got rid of it was I was kind of thinking to myself, am I going to read this? And now I would have gotten the kick in the pants to get to it, but I don't have it anymore. So that is a shame. But it does sound really interesting. I don't necessarily do well with books that are a little bit surreal. Um, when the surreality takes the form of weird things happen like I I can I I can deal with surreal surreality but if the surreality is um like to do with halfhumans and magic and fantasy, which this one seems like it is, I struggle a little bit. So, I would probably wait to see if it actually wins before I would try to look for another copy of this book to replace the one that I did have in the past, but uh for now, we will leave it as it is. I would love to hear from you if you have read Helens and what you thought of it and all of that stuff. And then we're going to jump to a book that I actually got from the library. And when I got it from the library, I had forgotten where I heard about it and it was the Carol Shields long list. That book is the white hot from one world published by Kiara Allegria Houdz. And I included this book in my Pulitzer Prize predictions. Sorry, it's a library book so it has that plastic on the front which makes it reflective. So I'm trying to hold it in a way that you can actually see what the cover looks like. Uh but I did include this in my Pulit surprise predictions which again will be linked down below.

[00:07:48]Kiara Allegria Uzz is a Pulit surprisewinning uh dramatist. She won for writing a play in the past. And here is the jury citation for this book. In the white hot, a woman, a mother, a daughter of immigrants does the unthinkable. She leaves. April Sodto has inherited a legacy of seeking from four mothers who had to escape in order not to die. With unflinching and embodied pros, Kiara Allegria Hudetsz brings us along April's wrenching and immersive journey. The novel's episttolary narrative is chu right versus wrong to raise a more labyrinthine set of set of questions about a rage, duty, and motherhood to which there are no comfortable answers.

[00:08:31]At the heart of this masterful work is the most uncomfortable question of all.

[00:08:35]How could love look like leaving? Now, obviously, this is a book that really jumped out to me from the long list cuz I put a hold on it at my library and it is here now. And let's just do a little bit from the ending of the blurb. The White Hot takes the form of a letter from mother to daughter about a moment of abandonment that would stretch from 10 days to 10 years. An explanation, but not an apology. Who does narrates April's story, spiritual and sexy, fierce and funny with delicate lyricism and tough love. Just as April finds her in her painful and absurd sojourn, the key to freeing herself and her family from a cage of generational trauma, so Hudz turns April's stumbling pursuit of herself into an unforgettable short epic of self-discovery. And this is a short book. I feel I'm into short books right now. So, I don't know what speed you're at right now, but uh this is 164 pages.

[00:09:34]So, definite novela territory here. And it sounds like a very powerful novela at that. So, I can't wait to read this. And again, we're going to talk about odds for winning a little bit when we get to the end of this video or closer to the end of this video. So, more to come about that. In the meantime, let's go to Canon by Lee Lie. This is a unique entry because this is a graphic novel and I think one of the things I like about the Carol Shields Prize is that it has included a graphic novel and that that's one of the things that makes it an appealing prize. I know there was a graphic novel on the long list for the book prize a couple of years ago, but that hasn't really repeated. So, uh, it's just refreshing to have a book major literary prize that is willing to put forward a short story collection and a graphic novel. Leeli wrote a graphic novel that I had read. I cannot remember what it was called right now. I'm sure it will be in the description. And I thought it was okay, but let's see what the jury citation says for this one. Author and artist Lee Lie blends strikingly simple dialogue, a sparse illustrative style and a precise eye for emotional detail in this beautiful graphic novel that shows us the messy insides of a working-class life, a fractured family, and a faltering friendship. Canon investigates huge topics like cultural identity, elder care, death, betrayal, regret, and necessary rage while still compelling the reader to stay up until the last page has been turned. and your bit from the end of the description.

[00:11:12]Okay. Uh, in canon Leeli's much anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed and award-winning Stonefruit, that's the one that I read. The full pallet of a nervous breakdown is just a slice of what lie has on offer. As Canon's shoulders bend under the weight of an aging gung and an avoidant mother, Lay's sharp sense of humor and sensitive eye produce a story that will hit readers with a smash. Now, I am glad that this is the type of prize that would have a graphic novel on the long list and have the audacity to put it onto the short list as well. But because I thought Stonefruit was just okay, I admit I don't really feel compelled to pick this one up. Not I mean myself. Your mileage may vary. If you have read Canon and would like to make a case for it in the comments, please feel free to do so. I could end up changing my mind, but as of right now, I don't think I would really be compelled to pick this one up. And I think of the books on the short list, it probably would be the book that I would be least likely to pick up. Although, I do love graphic novels. It just that previous experience with Stone Fruit is what really kind of holds me back from that one. All right, the next book that made it onto the short list is another one that I have in my hot little hands.

[00:12:38]A Guardian and a Thief by Mega Majunar.

[00:12:42]Here is the jury citation. This harrowing yet captivating novel fills us simultaneously with horror and compassion. Set in a dystopian Kolkata battered by poverty, starvation and severe climate change, it drags readers from complacency and forces them to face what can happen to our values when our dearest ones are stalked by disaster.

[00:13:03]Through tension trenchant images, deaf character creation, and breathtaking plot twists, Majunar embroils us in the lives of Ma and Bumba until we are no longer sure who is the guardian and who is the thief. And here is your bit from the end of the description.

[00:13:22]With stunning control and command, Mega Majunar paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of two families whose destinies become inexurably entangled, resting compassion from each narrative as the complexities of each character's circumstances, their helplessness in the face of poverty and corruption, and the need to stave off encroaching catastrophe are captured with clarity and piercing empathy. a masterful new work from one of the most exciting voices of her generation.

[00:13:49]This is one of the biggest books from last year. It has been all over the place. When it was published, it got a big boost from this little logo right here, which is Oprah's book club. And then it has showed up on a lot of year-end best lists. It was on the short list for the National Book Award. I included it in my Pulitzer Prize predictions video, which you can go there for what I think the odds are for this one. Um, and we'll talk about its odds for this particular prize after we talk about this last book. So, I I have not read it yet, but I would really like to. So, the final book that we have to talk about uh for the short list is Lion by Sonia Walder. Now, they did not include the jury citation on their website like the rest of them do. By the way, the website for this short list will be linked down below as well, but they included an excerpt of the citation in the email that they sent announcing the short list. So, I'm going to read the excerpt of the citation that is on their in their email. Okay. With mastery of skill, a deaf hand, and a brilliant grasp of everything dark and aching that moves us, Sonia Walder has delivered a book that reaches in and yanks out the beating heart of family.

[00:15:16]This is one that I've heard a lot of very good things about since the long list was announced. It is one that I'm very curious to read. I had recommended that my library purchase a copy. I checked this morning and it is pending still. So, they have not said no, but they have not said yes either. So, this is one that I would really like to read.

[00:15:38]I may my li uh library uses Libby, not Hoopla. And they don't have a copy of the audiobook. So, uh I may break down and cash in a credit on Libro at some point. We will have to see. Here is your bit from the end of this description.

[00:15:58]Sonia Wilders's stunning autobiographical debut is an emotionally acute palumst of a novel about a father and daughter in which the drama and incident, love and tragedy that make up his life make up hers as well. The legend of his life and her distinctive and imaginatively charged telling of it make for an engrossing and unforgettable family saga.

[00:16:19]I would be very curious to read this book for sure. And uh before we talk about which books I think have a chance of winning, let's say goodbye to the books from the long list that did not make the cut. Uh, The Edge of Water by Grace Olaf Olafunke Grace Benole, Sema Poison by Karen Balin, Milktooth by Jamie Bernett, Suddenly Light by Nina Dunnic, and this one I'm really surprised is not on the short list. It's one that I absolutely want to read. I'm on a hold list for the audio book right now because my library doesn't have a copy. Uh, it's Canacle by Janet Rich Edwards.

[00:17:09]I know not only did it catch my attention, it caught a lot of subscribers attentions or commenters at least. Uh, that is the book that I think most people came away from the long list reaction that I did saying I want to read that and as people have read it, they've given me very good feedback on it. So, I this is one that I would like to get. Um, this one my library didn't make a purchase of the book, so I'm just on hold for the audio and I can't remember how long that hold is, but this is definitely a book that I would like to read and because of all the good things I've heard about it, I'm a little surprised that it is not on the short list. Uh, then we also say goodbye to Casualties of Truth by Lauren Francis Chararma. Audition by Katie Kamura. Now, that that is a big one. It's another of the biggest books from 2025.

[00:18:08]It is what I would consider one of the front runners for the Puliter Prize for fiction. And again, that my predictions video will be down below. Um, so it is very surprising that it didn't make it onto the short list. Although I guess not altogether because I think one of the joys of the Carol Shields Prize is shining a light on books that you hadn't known before. And they do a pretty good job having a blend of books that you know and books that you're unfamiliar with, tipping slightly toward books that you might have been unfamiliar with. and Audition is probably the best known of the books that were on the long list uh by a long shot. Uh although not that much further than A Guardian and a Thief. Um it's possible that people would know A Guardian and a Thief more because of the Oprah of it all, but for literary people, I think Audition is probably the one that they would be most likely to be familiar with, and it's not here. I do think I see why Carmen Maria Machado at least would gravitate toward the books that did make the short list and why Audition feels a bit different from those. So perhaps it shouldn't be all that surprising, but one of the biggest books of the year didn't make it onto the short list, so it it merits comment. We also say goodbye to wildlife by Amanda Leuk. The morg keeper and uh the sea gives up the dead and the sea gives up the dead in particular I think was one of the books that I was interested in and I have not been able to track down a copy. So I may keep looking for that. So I think if you told me name one book that you are surprised didn't make it it would be canacle. But again, I can sort of see where the Carmen Maria Machado of it all uh would focus on some of the other books that did make the short list and not Canacle and Audition. Um but I really want to read Kantacle. And this is where it's good to look at long lists as tools of discovery because I don't think I would have ever heard of Kantacle if not for the Carol Shields Prize. And I I'm grateful for that.

[00:20:29]So, what might win?

[00:20:33]Well, once Audition doesn't make it onto the short list, but A Guardian and a Thief does, it would be very tempting to say, "Okay, a path has been cleared for A Guardian and a Thief to take the prize home." And that very well could happen.

[00:20:53]But I'm thinking that because this is the Carol Shields Prize and Carmen Maria, Carmen Maria Machado is at the helm, I think it's very possible and perhaps very likely that one of the other shortlisted books would end up winning. And I'm thinking specifically of Lion by Sonia Walger. And I'm also thinking I don't know most of the people on the jury, but I know Carmen Maria Machado and I know Disha Filya. And I think Lion by Sonia Walger is potentially a book that Disha Filya could get behind doing weird gamesmanship in my head trying to predict what people would like.

[00:21:38]But I can also see that both Carmen Maria Machado and Disha would really be into the white hot. So I think if I had to make a prediction right now for what will win the women's prize for or not the women's prize uh for what will win the Carol Shields Prize for fiction this year. I kind of think it might be this because if some of the other books are a little quirky and eccentric and you need something that does a bit of a balance, uh, Lion by Sonia Walder, even a guardian and a thief and the White Hot would be good options. And I don't know why, but I feel like the white hot might be the one. But it could easily be a guardian and a thief. It could easily be lion and uh it could be helens for all I know, but I I'm narrowing it down in my mind to those three. The white hot, a guardian, and a thief, and lion. Uh let me know what you think will win, what you think of this short list. If you're really disappointed by something from the long list not making it onto the short list, all of that good stuff in the comment section down below. As always, I really appreciate your time and I will be back. Until next time, happy reading.