Carol Ann Shields (née Warner; June 2, 1935 – July 16, 2003) was an American-born Canadian novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her 1993 novel '' The Stone Diaries'', which won the U.S.

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

as well as the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in Canada.

Early life and education

Shields was born Carol Ann Warner in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, adjacent to Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 26th-most populous municipality in Illinois, with a population of 54,318 as of the 2020 census. Oak Park was first se ...

. She studied at

Hanover College Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, United States, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Finley Crowe, it is Indiana's oldest private college. The Hanover athletic teams participat ...

, in Indiana, where she received a BA in English in 1957, and became a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. A United Nations scholarship encouraged Shields to spend a junior year abroad 1955–1956 at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

in England. Shields did post-graduate work at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

, where she received an MA in 1975. In 1955, while on British Council sponsored study week in Scotland, she met a Canadian engineering student, Donald Hugh Shields. The couple married in 1957 and moved to Canada, where they had a son and four daughters. Shields later became a Canadian citizen.

Career

In 1973, Shields became editorial assistant for the journal '' Canadian Slavonic Papers'' while living in Ottawa 1968–1978. Her first novel, ''Small Ceremonies'', was published in 1976, followed by ''The Box Garden'' in 1977. That year she worked as a sessional lecturer in the English Department at the University of Ottawa. She taught Creative Writing at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

while living in Vancouver from 1978 to 1980. Shields' third novel, ''Happenstance'', was published in 1980; that year, she and her husband settled in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, after he was hired to teach in the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

's Faculty of Engineering. It was here that Shields wrote her better-known books. From the fall of 1982 onward, Shields taught in the English Department at the University of Manitoba, first as an Assistant Professor (1982–1992), then as an Associate Professor (1992–1995). She published the novel ''Swann'' in 1987, and ''The Republic of Love'' in 1992. '' The Stone Diaries'' (1993) won the 1995

and the 1993 Governor General's Award, the only book to have ever received both awards. It won the U.S.

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

. The Stone Diaries was named one of the best books of the year by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''. It was also chosen as a "Notable Book" by ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', which wrote "The Stone Diaries reminds us again why literature matters." Shields was made Full Professor of English in 1995, and, in 1996, she became chancellor of the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW, or U of W) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers undergraduate programs in art, business, economics, education, science and applied health as well as graduate progra ...

. Shields was the author of several short story collections, including ''Various Miracles'' (1985), ''The Orange Fish'' (1989), and ''Dressing Up for the Carnival'' (2000). She was the recipient of a

Canada Council The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to ...

Major Award, two National Magazine Awards, the 1990 Marian Engel Award, the Canadian Authors Award, and a

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

short story award. She was appointed as an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1998 and was elevated to companion of the Order in 2002. Shields was also a fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

and a member of the Order of Manitoba. Carol Shields won the 1998

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

for her 1997 novel '' Larry's Party''. Her last novel, '' Unless'' (2002), was nominated for the 2002

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried co ...

, the Governor General of Canada Literary Award, the Booker Prize and the 2003 Orange Prize for Fiction. It was awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. On retirement in 2000, Shields became Professor Emerita at the University of Manitoba. That year, after Don's retirement, the couple moved to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. Shields also studied the works of Jane Austen. She wrote the biography entitled ''Jane Austen'', which won the $25,000 Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction in April 2002, an award accepted by her daughter Meg on her behalf in Toronto, on April 22, 2002. Her last novel, ''Unless'', contains a passionate defence of female writers who write of 'domestic' subjects. Carol Shields wrote plays including ''Departures and Arrivals'' which has been performed hundreds of times by both amateur and professional theaters. Other celebrated plays include ''Thirteen Hand'' (1993), ''Fashion, Power, Guilt, and the Charity of Families'' (co-authored with daughter Catherine Shields)(1995), and ''Unless'' (with daughter Sara Cassidy) (2005). Collections of poems by Shields were published in 1972 ''Others'', 1974 ''Intersect'', and 1992 ''Coming to Canada''. Two collections of essays written by women about what they were not told became best sellers in Canada. ''Dropped Threads'' (2001) and ''Dropped Threads 2'' (2003) were edited by Shields and her friend and colleague Marjorie Anderson.

Death and legacy

Shields died in 2003 of breast cancer at age 68 in Victoria. Following her death, six of her short stories were adapted by Shaftesbury Films into the dramatic anthology series ''

The Shields Stories ''The Shields Stories'' was a Canadian television drama series, which aired on W Network, W in 2004. A short-run dramatic anthology series produced by Shaftesbury Films, the series dramatized six short stories by Carol Shields. The series was a s ...

''. Her earlier short story collections were republished as ''Collected Stories of Carol Shields'' in 2005. Films based on Carol Shields's novels include '' Swann'' (1996) and '' The Republic of Love'' (2003). Her final novel, ''Unless'', was adapted as a play in 2016 by Alan Gilsenan. Shields' eldest daughter, Anne Giardini, is also a writer. Giardini has contributed to the ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of the American-owned Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only.

'' as a columnist, and has published her first novel, ''The Sad Truth About Happiness''. Anne's second novel, ''Advice for Italian Boys'', was published in 2009. Giardini and her son, Nicholas, edited a book of Shields' thoughts and advice on writing, ''Startle and Illuminate'', published in 2016. Shields' youngest daughter, Sara Cassidy, has published many children's books and young adult novels, including ''Slick'' (2010), ''Windfall'' (2011), A Boy Named Queen (2016), and Nevers (2019), which was nominated for the

for young people's literature. In 2020, the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction was announced as a new literary award to honor writing by Canadian and American women and non-binary authors. In 2022, Shields was posthumously inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame for her contributions as an author.

Honours and awards

*the Canadian Authors' Association Award for the Best Novel of 1976 ('' Small Ceremonies'') *the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Canadian Mystery ('' Swann: A Mystery'') *the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

Shortlist ('' The Stone Diaries ''and '' Unless'') *the

('' The Stone Diaries'') *the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c) organization, 501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the N ...

Award ('' The Stone Diaries'') *the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

('' The Stone Diaries'') *the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

('' Larry's Party'') *the

Charles Taylor Prize The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It was named for Charles P. B. Taylo ...

for Literary Non-Fiction (''Jane Austen'') *nominations for the

('' Larry's Party'' and '' Unless'') * the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

* Inductee to the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

Bibliography

Novels

*'' Small Ceremonies'', 1976 (winner of the Canadian Authors Association Award) *''The Box Garden'', 1977 (Later published in a joint edition with ''Small Ceremonies'' as ''Duet'') *''Happenstance'', 1980 *''A Fairly Conventional Woman'', 1982 (Later published as a joint edition with ''Happenstance'' as ''Happenstance'') *'' Swann: A Mystery'', 1987 (UK title: ''Mary Swann''), (Arthur Ellis Award for Best Canadian Mystery, 1988) *''A Celibate Season'', 1991 (with Blanche Howard) *'' The Republic of Love'', 1992 *'' The Stone Diaries'', 1993 (winner of the

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

; shortlisted for the

) *'' Larry's Party'', 1997 (winner of the

, and Le Grand Prix du livre de Montréal) *'' Unless'', 2002 (winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, shortlisted in 2002

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

and

, and shortlisted in 2003 for the

)

Graphic novels

* ''Susanna Moodie: Roughing it in the Bush,'' 2016 (with Patrick Crowe and art by Selena Goulding)

Short stories

*''Various Miracles'', 1985 *''The Orange Fish'', 1989 *'' Dressing Up for the Carnival'', 2000 *''Collected Stories'', 2004.

Poetry

*''Others'', Ottawa: Borealis Press, 1972. *''Intersect'', Ottawa: Borealis Press, 1974. *''Coming to Canada'', Ottawa: Carleton University Press, 1992.

Plays

*''Departures and Arrivals'', 1990 *''Thirteen Hands'', 1993 *''Fashion Power Guilt and the Charity of Families'', 1995 (with Catherine Shields) *''Anniversary: A Comedy'', 1998 (with Dave Williamson) *''Women Waiting'', 1983 *'' Unless'', 2005 *''Larry's Party - the Musical'', 2000 (adapted by Richard Ouzounian with music by Marek Norman) *''Thirteen Hands and Other Plays.'' Toronto: Vintage, 2002.

Criticism

*''Susanna Moodie: Voice and Vision'', 1976

Biography

*''Jane Austen''. New York: Viking, 2001.

Anthologies

*''Dropped Threads: What We aren't Told''. Toronto: Vintage, 2001. (edited with Marjorie Anderson) *''Dropped Threads 2: More of What We aren't Told''. Toronto: Vintage, 2003. (edited with Marjorie Anderson)

Movies

* ''Swann'' 1996 *'' The Republic of Love'' 2003

References

External links

The Carol Shields Literary Trust
* ttp://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/carol-shields/ Carol Shields'sentry in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

CBC ObituaryThe Carol Shields Memorial Labyrinth
*The archives of Carol Shield
(Carol Shields fonds, R11805)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Carol 1935 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American poets Alumni of the University of Exeter American emigrants to Canada American women short story writers American women novelists 21st-century Canadian biographers Canadian women novelists Canadian women poets Canadian women short story writers Canadian socialists Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Companions of the Order of Canada Deaths from breast cancer in Canada Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Governor General's Award–winning fiction writers Hanover College alumni Members of the Order of Manitoba Writers from Oak Park, Illinois Writers from Winnipeg Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners Academic staff of the University of Manitoba University of Ottawa alumni 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets American women poets American women biographers Canadian women biographers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century American poets 20th-century American biographers 21st-century American biographers 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Novelists from Illinois 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American essayists Canadian women non-fiction writers Historians from Illinois 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American women National Book Critics Circle Award winners Manitoba Book Awards winners Poets from Manitoba