On May 4, the inaugural Carol Shields Prize, the largest literary prize in the world for American and Canadian women and non-binary fiction writers, will be awarded. Susan Swan, co-founder of the prize, on the pushback it has encountered, and why it’s needed
Women ‘are routinely overlooked for awards,’ says Melinda Gates as her Pivotal Ventures company backs the forthcoming Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.
Image – iStockphoto: Alex Linch
Gates: ‘Ours Will Be a More Equal Society’
The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction may not be a literary or publishing award you know, and that’s because it has yet to be awarded.
Today (January 15), however, the program has announced a donation from Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures investment and incubation firm, a handsome US$250,000, which is sure to help make this specialized awards program make a viable start on its mission to recognize the work of women and nonbinary writers in Canada and the United States.