The Sunburst Award Society is pleased to congratulate Helen Marshall, the author of The Lady, the Tiger and the Girl Who Loved Death (Titan Books, 2025), on winning the $3,000 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic.
The jurors for the 2026 Award are distinguished authors A.G. Pasquella, Daniel Perry, and A.C. Wise. Over 100 books published in 2025 were submitted for consideration for the award.
Jury citation
This brilliant literary fantasy plunges the reader into a dark and brutal world of glamour and danger as we follow a young woman and her grandmother in their attempts to tame Death. Marshall contrasts the painted glamour of the carnivalesque with the harsh dystopia of a repressive regime. This is a layered, intricate, and thoughtful fantasy blended with grim reality to create a beautifully strange fable of revenge, loss, grief, and healing. Marshall draws on history and traditional tales, weaving them seamlessly into the novel and suffusing the narrative with a dream-like feel. The prose is gorgeous throughout, while also remaining grounded, centring the reader with a deep sense of place – whether it be the city, the circus, or a small apartment. Strands of history overlap and intertwine, allowing for an effective exploration of the cyclical nature of violence on a large scale, but also delving into generational trauma and complicated family histories. The characters and setting are rich and all of the elements come together in a truly satisfying read that doesn’t pull its punches but manages to leave the reader with a sense of hope as well.
About Helen Marshall
Helen Marshall is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Queensland. She has won the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award, and the Shirley Jackson Award. Her debut novel, The Migration, was one of The Guardian’s top science fiction and fantasy books of 2019. She lives in Australia. https://helen-marshall.com/
Since its inception in 2001, the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic has recognized over 225 works of Canadian speculative literature and honoured deserving books through its prestigious awards program.