Carol Shields

Carol Shields was a highly acclaimed literary fiction author, best known for her ability to illuminate and capture the ordinariness of life. She was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1935, and went on to study at Hanover College, the University of Exeter in England, and the University of Ottawa. In 1957, she married Donald Shields and moved to Canada permanently.

Shields was an accomplished and prolific writer, producing ten novels, three short story collections, poetry, plays, criticism, and a biography of Jane Austen. She taught at the University of Ottawa, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Manitoba, and served as chancellor of the University of Winnipeg. Her writing was widely recognized and honored, with awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Governor General's Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Canada Council Major Award.

Shields' novel "The Stone Diaries" is perhaps her most well-known work, and it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction as well as the Governor General's Award in 1993. The novel is a rich and moving exploration of the life of a ordinary woman named Daisy Stone Goodwill, from her birth to her death. Through Daisy's story, Shields examines the complexities and nuances of human experience, and the ways in which ordinary lives can be both extraordinary and deeply meaningful.

In addition to "The Stone Diaries", Shields also wrote "Swann", which won the Best Novel Arthur Ellis Award in 1988. She was also known for her short stories, plays and poetry, as well as her critical work and biography of Jane Austen. Shields passed away in 2003, but her writing continues to be celebrated and studied for its insightful and compassionate portrayal of the human experience.