Actress Sonya Walger, graphic novelist Lee Lai shortlisted for Carol Shields Prize

Sonya Walger, a writer longlisted for the 2026 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, is seen in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Kayt Jones (Mandatory Credit)

British-American actress Sonya Walger is one of five authors shortlisted for the US$150,000 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction.

Her autofictional novel “Lion,” based on her relationship with her enigmatic father, is in the running for the award, which is the world’s largest English-language literary prize for women and non-binary writers.

Also on the short list is “Cannon” by Melbourne-born, Montreal-based graphic novelist Lee Lai, about two queer, second-generation Chinese-Canadians.

The finalists also include “A Guardian and a Thief” by Megha Majumdar, about a woman’s desperate attempt to get her family out of a version of India decimated by the climate crisis, and genre-bending short story collection “Hellions” by Julia Elliott.

Rounding out the short list is Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes’s debut novel “The White Hot,” about a runaway mother’s 10 days of freedom.

The award will be handed out at a ceremony in Toronto on June 2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2026.