V. V. Ganeshananthan was announced today as the second ever winner of the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, for her novel Brotherless Night.

Brotherless Night is a searing, gripping novel about a young Tamil woman living through the Sri Lankan civil war.

Sixteen-year-old Sashi wants to become a doctor. But over the next decade, as a vicious civil war subsumes Sri Lanka, her dream takes her on a different path as she watches those around her, including her four beloved brothers and their best friend, get swept up in violent political ideologies and their consequences. She must ask herself - is it possible for anyone to move through life without doing harm? And, when the wrong person asks you to do the right thing, would you do it?

The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction celebrates creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States, awarding $150,000 USD to its winner, and $12,500 USD to each of its four finalists. The other titles that were shortlisted for the prize were:

• Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
• Daughter by Claudia Dey
• Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote
• A History of Burning by Janika Oza

You can read more about the Carol Shields prize and Brotherless Night here, or find it online and in Readings shops now.