TORONTO — U.S. author V. V. Ganeshananthan has won the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, worth US$150,000.
Her book "Brotherless Night," published by Random House, was described by jurors as an ambitious and beautifully written novel about a young doctor caught in Sri Lanka's civil war.
Ganeshananthan was named the winner at a Toronto gala for the prize, billed as the largest English-language literary prize in the world for women and non-binary authors.
Ganeshananthan, an instructor at the University of Minnesota, also won a coveted residency at the Fogo Island Inn on the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Other finalists – who each received $12,500 – included Canadians Janika Oza for "A History of Burning," Claudia Dey for "Daughter" and Canadian-born, New Zealand-raised Eleanor Catton for "Birnam Wood."
U.S. author Kim Coleman Foote was also on the short list for her novel "Coleman Hill."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press
