One of These Writers Will Win $150,000
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Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.
Longlist for the 2026 Carol Shields Prize
The Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which is the first and largest English-language literary prize to celebrate creativity and excellence in fiction by women and non-binary writers in Canada and the United States, has announced its 2026 longlist. Among the 15 longlisted works are Book Riot house favorite Audition by Katie Kitamura and A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar, one of my personal faves of 2025. (It’s a crime that Majumdar didn’t win the National Book Award, but that’s an essay for another day.) Cannon by Lee Lai is the only graphic novel to earn the honor. See the full longlist here, and watch for the shortlist to be revealed on April 21. The winner, who will receive $150,000, will be announced in a ceremony in Toronto on June 2.
That ACOTAR Adaptation is Never Going to Happen
Sarah J. Maas made good use of her recent appearance on Call Her Daddy. In addition to announcing that two more ACOTAR books are coming soon, Maas revealed that she has taken back the adaptation rights after multiple false starts at Hulu. Telling host Alex Cooper that she is focused on her books right now, Maas expressed frustration with the ways that streaming media and analytics are shaping creative work:
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I don’t ever want to hear like, “Oh, we need to change this to appeal to XYZ’s demographic. I’m like, ‘No, that’s not how you make art. That’s not how I create my stories.’ So when I do it, it’s gonna be me, and I will dedicate everything that I have to making it right.
And that, my friends, is why I remain convinced that this adaptation will never happen. Well, that and the fact that it would cost a floppity jillion dollars, and the only properties getting that kind of cash these days have multigenerational fandoms.
Test Your Doorstopper Novel Knowledge
If you want that “I like big books and I cannot lie” tote bag, you’ve gotta earn it. Test your knowledge of doorstop-sized novels with this quiz from the New York Times.
Go Into the Woods, Smoke Some Weed, and Wait It Out
As the Academy Awards approach, we’re revisiting the book that inspired it: Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. Listen to our conversation about this zany, challenging, unforgettable read on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your podcatcher of choice.
