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, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated i ...

. She studied at

Hanover College Hanover College is a private college in Hanover, Indiana, 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 participate in the He ...

, in Indiana, where she became a member of the

Alpha Delta Pi Alpha Delta Pi (), commonly known as ADPi (pronounced "ay-dee-pye"), is an International Panhellenic sorority founded on May 15, 1851, at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. It is the oldest secret society for women. Alpha Delta Pi is a mem ...

sorority. A United Nations scholarship encouraged Shields to spend a junior year abroad 1955–1956 at the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

in England. Shields did post-graduate work at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottaw ...

, 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 Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

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 province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

, after he was hired to teach in the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.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 known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

. 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 read ...

'', 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) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gr ...

. 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 (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal in ...

Major Award, two National Magazine Awards, the 1990

Marian Engel Award Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places * Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensla ...

, the Canadian Authors Award, and a CBC short story award. She was appointed as an officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

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

Order of Manitoba The Order of Manitoba (french: Ordre du Manitoba) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted Royal Assent to The Order of Manitoba Act, the order is administe ...

. 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 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

for her 1997 novel ''

Larry's Party ''Larry's Party'' is a 1997 novel by Carol Shields. There is an underlying theme of people retracing their steps, both literally and figuratively, and going down different routes to try to achieve fulfilment. The novel examines the life of Larry ...

''. Her last novel, '' Unless'' (2002), was nominated for the 2002

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), 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 competition ...

, 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 Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. T ...

. 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 defense 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 Shaftesbury Films is a film, television and digital media production company founded by Christina Jennings in 1987. It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background Shaftesbury is a creator and producer of original content for television an ...

into the dramatic anthology series '' The Shields Stories''. 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 available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' 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 The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction is a North American literary award, created in 2020 to honour literature by women.Scottie Andrew"A new literary prize will award more than $100,000 to a North American writer. The only criteria? No men". CNN, Feb ...

was announced as a new literary award to honour writing by Canadian and American women.

Honours and awards

*the Canadian Authors' Association Award for the Best Novel of 1976 (''

Small Ceremonies ''Small Ceremonies'' is a 1976 novel by American-Canadian writer Carol Shields. The novel centres on Judith Gill, a university academic who is writing a biography of Susanna Moodie, depicting a year in the life of her family. The novel has some ...

'') *the

Arthur Ellis Award The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, formerly known as the Arthur Ellis Awards, are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing published in th ...

for Best Canadian Mystery ('' Swann: A Mystery'') *the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

Shortlist ('' The Stone Diaries'; ''Unless""') *the

('' The Stone Diaries'') *the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit 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 National Book Critics C ...

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

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

(''

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

(''

'' 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 non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

Bibliography

Novels

*''

'', 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 Blanche Willis Howard (July 20, 1847 – October 7, 1898) (married name: Blanche Willis Howard von Teuffel) was an American writer whose novels developed out of the genre of Sentimentalism to Realism to the New Woman. Her first novel, ''One Summe ...

) *'' The Republic of Love'', 1992 *'' The Stone Diaries'', 1993 (winner of the

'', 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 known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

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 ''Dressing Up for the Carnival'' is a short story collection published in 2000 by Canadian author Carol Shields, which depicts 12 characters who live their lives through illusions. The Carnival is a metaphor for life, and "dressing up" represe ...

'', 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 Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

'', 1993 *''

Fashion Power Guilt and the Charity of Families Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashi ...

'', 1995 (with Catherine Shields) *'' Anniversary: A Comedy'', 1998 (with Dave Williamson) *''

Women Waiting A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as " women's rights" to denote female humans rega ...

'', 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; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

CBC Obituary
*
The 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; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is 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 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 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 University of Manitoba faculty University of Ottawa alumni 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian poets American women poets 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century American poets 20th-century American biographers American women 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