Short list unveiled for humour award
Posted By Courtney Whalen
Updated 2 years ago
A first time author, a former winner, comedy from the retail aisles, a healthy dose of politics and some western flair. That's what the books selected for this year's Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour shortlist encompass.
The five books; The Gum Thief by Douglas Coupland, The Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis, Will Ferguson's Spanish Fly, King John of Canada by Scott Gardiner and Ron Wood's And God Created Manyberries, were unveiled Thursday at the TD Canada Trust West Ridge Branch in Orillia.
"This year has probably been one of the most humorous," Stephen Leacock Association president Wayne Scott told those gathered for the announcement.
For 2007, 11 local readers and five national judges had 47 entries to choose from when selecting the final five.
"There's an awful lot of good literature there that's not mentioned on our finals list," said Scott, who is also one of the local readers. "(We had) a couple of travel books, one on martial arts and even one on identifying mushrooms..."
Award chair Judith Rapson said this year's short list shows a lot of diversity from well known Canadian authors like Ferguson and Coupland to first time author Terry Fallis, who self-published his book, and Ron Wood whose book looks at things from the perspective of a small western town.
But despite their differences there is one thing they all share.
"I think they touch on issues that are really Canadian," she said.
The winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour and the $10,000 prize that accompanies it, sponsored by TD Bank Financial Group, will be announced April 30 at the Leacock Museum with a celebration to follow June 7 at Geneva Park.
"It's part of promoting literacy in Canada," said TD Bank West Ridge manager Cathy Stephenson of the bank's involvement with the award
She said literacy is a key focus of the corporation Canada-wide.
"This is just another example of how we can make a difference together," added district vice president Jamie Collins, pointing to the partnership with a local organization that has national impact with the annual award.
For Scott, one of the important elements of the Leacock medal is to encourage up and coming writers as well as recognizing established names in the literary world.
"We had an awful lot of new authors (this year) and that's what we want," he said. "It's the only national award for humour in Canada and is one of the oldest literacy awards in Canada."
This year also saw submissions from Rick Mercer, Arthur Black, Max Haines and James Bartleman.
Rapson, a retired high school English teacher, said she loves talking to the authors and publishing houses involved in the process, especially those who have become finalists.
"When I talk to authors and tell them they're shortlisted, just to hear in their voice 'wow, I've been recognized'," she said. "And it doesn't matter if it's a well known author or someone not so well known."
Rapson said the five national judges represent the major geographical areas of the country (being located in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia). Each of those judges votes and the 11 local readers combine their own picks to also come up with one vote from which the short list and eventual winner is chosen. With judges and readers as varied as the books that are submitted she said its a system authors seem to like.
"Authors have said they appreciate the Stephen Leacock award because it's the most apolitical literary award in Canada," she said.
This year Lakehead University has also come on board with the association, sponsoring promotional bookmarks and posters.
To find out more about the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour or the association go to www.leacock.ca.
cwhalen@orilliapacket.com
