Presenting the 2026 Shields Prize Longlist
15 unforgettable works of fiction by women and non-binary writers in the United States and Canada spanning novels, short story collections, and a graphic novel.
On behalf of the Jury, Chair Carmen Maria Machado shared: “It’s been such an honor and a privilege to encounter this body of work by women and non-binary authors, who are writing some of the most exciting literature I’ve seen in an age.”
People Magazine did an exclusive reveal: https://people.com/carol-shields-prize-longlist-exclusive-11921977
The 2026 Longlist:
● The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole (Tin House)
● Sea, Poison by Caren Beilin (New Directions Publishing)
● milktooth by Jaime Burnet (Vagrant Press)
● Suddenly Light by Nina Dunic (Invisible Publishing)
● Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards (Spiegel & Grau)
● Hellions by Julia Elliott (Tin House)
● Casualties of Truth by Lauren Francis-Sharma (Atlantic Monthly Press)
● The White Hot by Quiara Alegría Hudes (One World)
● Audition by Katie Kitamura (Riverhead Books)
● Cannon by Lee Lai (Drawn & Quarterly)
● Wild Life by Amanda Leduc (Random House Canada)
● A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar (McClelland & Stewart, Canada; Knopf,
USA)
● The Morgue Keeper by Ruyan Meng (7.13 Books)
● The Sea Gives Up the Dead by Molly Olguín (Red Hen Press)
● Lion by Sonya Walger (New York Review Books)
Please join us in celebrating them! 🎉 Here are the links to the announcement on Instagram, LinkedIn,Facebook,Bluesky,X (formerly Twitter), and Threads.
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