Presenting the 2026 Shields Prize Jury

The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction is proud to present our 2026 Prize Jury:

Carmen Maria Machado, Jury Chair (In the Dream House, Her Body and Other Parties)
Ivan Coyote (Tomboy Survival Guide, Gender Failure)
Cherie Dimaline (The Marrow Thieves, Funeral Songs for Dying Girls)
Chitra Divakaruni (The Last Queen, Oleander Girl)
Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman)

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.”

Read more about our 2026 Jury.

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Next important dates:
March 10: Longlist
April 21: Shortlist
June 2: Prize Awarded

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Your donation to the Carol Shields Prize will boost our mission of uplifting the writers we serve, generating more opportunities for them to create, and lessening the burden of economic hardship.

*  Valid for cash support from new donors, that is, individuals, foundations, and institutions who have either never given or pledged donations to the Prize at any time within the three immediately preceding calendar years. If you have any questions, please contact Alexandra Skoczylas alex @ carolshieldsprizeforfiction.com