World Editions to reissue Carol Shields’ backlist

The Stone Diaries and three other novels by Pulitzer-prize-winning author Carol Shields are to be reissued by independent international literature specialists World Editions.

This spring, World Editions will publish The Stone Diaries, Happenstance, The Republic of Love and Mary Swann. These titles were formerly published by Fourth Estate, and have been unavailable in the UK since autumn 2014.

World Editions c.e.o. Eric Visser, who also founded Dutch publishers De Geus, said: "I remember first reading The Republic of Love and I knew that Carol’s writing was uniquely special. I was determined that we’d be one of her first foreign publishers, and I was thrilled to welcome her to the Netherlands for a book tour. 

"That time, only four people attended the reading but thankfully Carol enjoyed her warm Dutch welcome and came back in 1995 for the Dutch edition of The Stone Diaries, where 800 people came to hear her speak. We worked together for many years, and I published Dutch editions of seven of her titles altogether, so I was thrilled when her husband Donald Shields asked me to become the international publisher of her English-language titles."

Shields died from cancer in 2003.