'It comes from the idea that bad things can happen to us, that trouble can come to us, that disrupts us. I think of reality and fiction something like that. If you've seen silk embroidery, it's beautifully done on both sides so that both sides count and are beautifully worked.

So this idea of fiction and reality - reality with the quote marks around it - is something that has always interested me and certainly did while I was writing this book.

'But I used it in the book in somewhat the same way - as a little way to get into a narrative and turn it over. He was going off one day to give a lecture and he told me it was called 'Unless.' That's when I found out that 'unless' is a term that's used in logic - there's even a sign for it, which is a big 'U' lying on its side. 'The idea for the title Unless came to me from a philosophy professor at the University of Manitoba whose office was next to mine. Her last novel, Unless, tells the story of a writer struggling to understand her daughter, who's chosen to live on a downtown street corner with a cardboard sign fixed to her that reads 'Goodness.' The logic behind unless She was the author of more than 20 books including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Stone Diaries, The Republic of Loveand Swann: A Mystery.

Giller Prize winner Suzette Mayr shortlisted for $206K Carol Shields Prize for Fiction 2023īorn and raised in Oak Park, Ill., Carol Shields moved to Canada in the 1960s, where she began writing as she raised her children.

Shields died the following year from breast cancer. In honour of the prize, Writers & Company presents Eleanor Wachtel's last conversation with Shields, recorded at her home in Victoria in 2002. 'The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and story-tellers but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.On May 4, the winner of the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which celebrates the work of Canadian and American women and non-binary writers, will be announced. Best of all, there is the magic of tales woven into the fabric of their everyday lives - the myths, family history, and hometown anecdotes all told by the fascinating Story Girl.įrom beloved children's author Lucy Maud Montgomery comes a delightful classic reflecting both the joys and tragedies of childhood. Is old Peg Bowen really a witch? What secrets does the neighbor keep hidden in his spare room? What if tomorrow is the end of the world? And what is in the old blue chest?Īlong with their cousins, they learn the value of work and play, the wisdom of proverbs, how to struggle with temptations and face their fears.

When Bev and Felix arrive at the King farm in Prince Edward Island, they have no idea of the adventures and memories in store for them. A wholesome story of family, love and belonging, to be enjoyed by any generation.

The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery