The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction 2025 longlist was announced on Thursday, March 6, 2025. These are the writers of African descent who made the cut.
Carol Shields was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer who is best known for her 1993 novel The Stone Diaries, which won the US Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General’s Award in Canada. She passed away in 2003.
In 2020, the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, an annual literary award recognising the best fiction written by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States, was set up in her honour. The first winner given in 2023 was Fatimah Asghar, which was followed by V. V. Ganeshananthan.
The 2025 jury comprises Diana Abu-Jaber (Chair), Norma Dunning, Kim Fu, Tessa McWatt, and Jeanne Thornton. This panel announced the longlist on March 6, which features the following writers of African descent;
- Obligations to the Wounded, Mubanga Kalimamukwento (University of Pittsburgh Press)
- Code Noir, Canisia Lubrin (Knopf Canada/Soft Skull Press)
- Masquerade, O.O. Sangoyomi (Forge)
- Kin: Practically True Stories, V Efua Prince (Wayne State University Press)
- Oonya, Kempadoo Naniki (Rare Machines)
The shortlist will be announced on April 3 before the winners are made public at a ceremony in Chicago, USA on May 1. The winner will get a US$150,000 cash prize while the shortlistees will receive US$12,500 each.
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