Julia Elliott won the $150,000 Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which aims to celebrate and amplify exceptional writing by women and non-binary authors working in the U.S. and Canada, for her short story collection, Hellions (Tin House). The four finalists each receive $12,500.
The jury said: "This eerie, eclectic, genre-leaping collection takes no half-measures; every sentence of Hellions crackles or crawls. Here, human folly moves against a backdrop of horror and magic. There's folklore in these stories, and Southern gothic horror, and surrealism, and fantasy, and, at their center, a thread of uneasy, bodily realism. The work evokes writers like Angela Carter, Dorothy Allison, Gloria Naylor, and Kelly Link. But for all its wildness, there is tremendous control; Elliott is a gifted and thrilling writer."
In addition to the cash prize, the winner receives a five-night stay at Fogo Island Inn, while the four finalists and the winner are invited to participate in a group retreat residency in the Leighton Artist Studios, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada.
"BMO [Bank of Montreal] is proud to support the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction," said Helen Seibel, v-p and head of community and employee giving at BMO, which has been the award sponsor since 2023. "This prize helps advance inclusion in the literary world and recognizes exceptional storytelling from under-represented voices. It reflects BMO's commitment to building stronger communities by supporting organizations and initiatives that broaden perspectives and foster connection."