Tickets for the gala weekend events are available on our Gala Weekend page here.
Numbers of tickets available after this date will be severely restricted!
June3, 2026
The president and board of directors of the Stephen Leacock Associates are delighted (and mildly amused) to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
This year’s finalists—each bringing their own brand of wit, warmth, and wonderfully well-timed punchlines—are competing for the prestigious Leacock Medal and a $25,000 prize. In alphabetical order by surname, they are:
Meredith Hambrock, She's a Lamb (ECW Press)
Meredith Hambrock’s debut novel Other People’s Secrets was called “audacious” and “fabulous” by the New York Times. She has been a finalist for the CBC Short Story Prize and worked extensively in television, most recently in the writers’ room for the Canadian Screen Award–winning sitcom Corner Gas Animated. She lives in Saskatoon.
Susin Nielsen, SNAP (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
Susin Nielsen is a multiple award-winning novelist and screenwriter who recently wrapped the fourth season of her critically acclaimed hour-long comedy-drama series, Family Law. She’s written over a hundred hours of television and is also the author of seven best-selling young adult novels. Her books have won the Governor General’s Literary Award, the UKLA award and over a dozen young readers’ choice awards. In 2019, she was awarded the Writers’ Trust Vicki Metcalf Award for a body of work. Her books have been translated around the world.
Mark Waddell, Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World (Viking Canada)
Mark Waddell grew up on the cold, windswept prairies of western Canada and later earned a Ph.D. in the history of science, medicine, and technology from the Johns Hopkins University. After teaching at Michigan State University for fifteen years, he and his husband moved to Vancouver Island. When not writing, he plays the viola in the Civic Orchestra of Victoria, walks his dogs on the beach, and slays fearsome monsters in Dungeons & Dragons.
"The finalists this year exemplify the qualities we seek in recipients of the Leacock Medal for Humour," said Daphne Mainprize, President of the Stephen Leacock Associates. "Each book on this shortlist demonstrates not only a strong sense of humour, but also engaging storytelling, literary merit, and an authentic narrative voice. From an impressive field of entries, these three works stood out as exceptional examples of Canadian literary humour."
The winner will be announced on Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the Leacock Medal Gala Dinner in Orillia, where guests can enjoy great food, good company, and possibly an awkward acceptance speech. The event will be hosted by Morgan Murray, a former Leacock Medal finalist who proudly calls himself a "Leacock loser" (his words, not ours), with entertainment provided by Cathal Kelly, the 2019 medal winner, moonlighting as the fictional Mayor of Mariposa.
The evening before, June 19, the annual “Meet the Authors” and Student Showcase will be hosted by the Leacock Medal Sponsor (and winner of the 1993 student Award) Brad Dunkley, whose sense of humour is still strong, and has been well used recently in fund raising for charities.
Tickets for both events are available until June 6, 2025, at www.leacock.ca/gala.php. Don't delay—humour waits for no one.
May 19, 2026
The Stephen Leacock Associates are pleased to announce the winners of their 2026 Student Humorous Short Story Competition.
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Zainabe Zahra Hirji
Winner with |
Sharadha Giri
Runner-up with |
Ruijie Pang
Runner-up with |
The winner will receive $1,500 and each of the two runners-up will receive $750.
This year's competition attracted 51 entries, maintaining a high level of interest. Thanks to all participants for your enthusiasm and your efforts.
May 15, 2026
The Stephen Leacock Associates are pleased to announce the 2026 long list for the annual Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
Celebrating 79 years since its inception, this annual award recognizes excellence in Canadian literary humour. Past winners have included Terry Fallis, Will Ferguson, W.O.Mitchell, Stuart McLean and Mordecai Richler.
"On behalf of the board of directors of the Stephen Leacock Associates, I am delighted to announce the long list for the 2026 Leacock Medal for Humour," said Daphne Mainprize, president.
"This year's long list showcases the remarkable talent, wit and keen insight that continues to make Canadian literary humour so vibrant and essential. I extend warm congratulations to the ten authors whose books have made the long list. We also thank our dedicated, national panel of judges for their thoughtful work in evaluating the strong field of entries this year."
The three finalists will be revealed in mid-May, and the winner of the Leacock Medal and $25,000 prize will be celebrated at our annual gala dinner in Orillia on June 20.
The long list for the 2026 Leacock Medal (in alphabetical order by author surname) is:
| Critch, Mark | Sorry, Not Sorry: An Unapologetic Look at What Makes Canada Worth Fighting For | Viking Canada |
| Fallis, Terry | The Marionette | McClelland & Stewart |
| Hambrock, Meredith | She's a Lamb | ECW Press |
| Hincenbergs, Sue | The Retirement Plan | HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. |
| Juby, Susan | Contemplation of a Crime | HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. |
| Nielsen, Susin | SNAP | HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. |
| Pottie, Bryn | The Great Lunenburglary | Moose House Publications |
| Quirion, Josh | Homebound | Shoreline Press |
| Smith, Brad | Billy Crawford's Double Play | Wolsak and Wynn Publishers |
| Waddell, Mark | Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World |
Viking Canada |
Tickets for the Leacock Medal Gala Dinner, at which the winner will be announced, are available at www.leacock.ca/gala.php.
April 17, 2026
SAVE THE DATE! Laughter Awaits!
79th Leacock Medal for Humour Gala Weekend – June 19 & 20, 2026
Tickets on Sale Soon – Members, April 1 / Public April 7
Get ready for a whirlwind of wit, whimsy, and world-class, Canadian humour! The Stephen Leacock Associates proudly invite you to the 79th Leacock Medal for Humour Gala Weekend on Friday, June 19, and Saturday, June 20, 2026, at the beautiful Hawk Ridge Golf Club in Severn, ON.
This is the literary event of the year - two unforgettable evenings filled with hilarious readings, insightful author chats, local entertainment, special guests (including literary legends and politicos), delicious dining, and the exciting reveal of the $25,000 Leacock Medal winner.
Two fun-filled events over the weekend:
!!! News !!! You can now purchase a combination ticket for both evenings…for $180 you get a discount and can enjoy the entire Gala Weekend!
For full details, and to purchase tickets, go to our Gala Weekend page.
March 3, 2026
We have received the very first of the entries for our 2026 student awards competition today. Students between the ages of 14 and 19 who attend schools, colleges or university (or are home-schooled) in Ontario are eligible to enter the competition. The deadline for entries (which may be uploaded online, or sent in by mail) is April 15, 2026. Full details about the competition are given on our Student Awards page on this website.
January 24, 2026
The annual general meeting of Stephen Leacock Associates will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 16, 2025, at the Creative Nomad Studios, 23 Mississaga Street West, Orillia, L3V 3A5. Members and the general public are invited to attend, either in person or online, but should register by emailing pr@leacock.ca no later than 4 p.m. on Thursday, November 13.
Registrants will be sent a Zoom link on Friday, November 14, plus a copy of the agenda.
October 14, 2025
For full details about the submission process, please see our Leacock Medal Award page.
August 1, 2025
At the Leacock Medal Gala Dinner on June 21, Natalie Sue was proclaimed the winner for her novel I Hope This Finds You Well, published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Natalie Sue is a Canadian author of Iranian and British descent. She spent her formative years moving around western Canada with a brief stint in Scotland, where she discovered her passion for storytelling as a means of connection and reading as a means of comfort. When she’s not writing, she enjoys bingeing great and terrible TV, attempting pottery, and procuring houseplants. She lives in Calgary with her husband, daughter, and dog. I Hope This Finds You Well is her debut novel.
The announcement came at the end of a weekend of celebrating the three shortlisted authors and the winners of the student essay prizes.
In our Friday "Meet the Authors and Student Showcase" event (hosted by Terry Fallis), the student winner, Nina Yu, and the two runners-up, Iris Matthews and Hamza Siddiqui, read their humorous essays to much applause. The three shortlisted authors read excerpts from their novels and then, together with former winners of the Medal, were subjected to a barrage of questions from Treasurer Josh Milligan and the audience, acquitting themselves well with their humorous answers.
At the Saturday Gala Dinner (hosted by self-described "medal loser" Morgan Murray), former medal-winning authors Terry Fallis, Cathal Kelly and Wayne Johnston each spotlighted a finalist book, after which Natalie Sue was announced the winner and the evening concluded.
June 23, 2025
Former Leacock Medal winners and best-selling authors, Terry Fallis (winner 2008 & 2015), Wayne Johnston (2023), Cathal Kelly (2019, who also happens to be The Globe and Mail’s much-hailed sports columnist), and John Levesque (1993, and this year’s “Mayor” of Mariposa) will play prominent parts in the celebrations when the 2025 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and a $25,000 cheque are presented to one of the three shortlisted authors – Greg Kearney, Patricia J. Parsons or Natalie Sue.
Also meet Morgan Murray: settler, scribbler, and semi-professional chicken wrangler, who will host the Gala Dinner in Orillia on June 21 at which the winner of this year's Medal will be announced.
Morgan hails from Caroline, Alberta (Treaty 6 territory), a town so small that it’s best known for producing exactly two famous people: figure-skating legend Kurt Browning, and Morgan himself—though only one of them can land a quadruple toe loop, and the other can’t even land a punchline without making you laugh first.
As a writer, Morgan has achieved what few others dare to dream: he’s been rejected by some of the most prestigious publications in North America. His first novel, Dirty Birds, drew comparisons to Kurt Vonnegut—though Vonnegut never had to lose quite so many awards in such a short period of time. Dirty Birds was a finalist for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour (close but no cigar), longlisted for CBC’s Canada Reads (so close you could smell the radio), and won one out of three Atlantic Book Awards (a solid 33%, or, in baseball, Hall of Fame material).
So why was this guy chosen to host the 2025 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour Celebration in Orillia on Saturday, June 21st? Because to say Morgan Murray isn’t funny is like saying Stephen Leacock wasn’t. Also, Kurt Browning was busy.
Source and photo: Writers Federation of Nova Scotia (from which this post is shamelessly paraphrased!)
May 24, 2025
The president and board of directors of the Stephen Leacock Associates are delighted (and mildly amused) to announce the shortlist for the 2025 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
This year’s finalists—each bringing their own brand of wit, warmth, and wonderfully well-timed punchlines—are competing for the prestigious Leacock Medal and a $25,000 prize. In alphabetical order by surname, they are:
Greg Kearney, An Evening With Birdy O'Day (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Greg Kearney is the award-winning author of two story collections (Mommy Daddy Baby and Pretty) and a novel (The Desperates), which was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. His latest novel, An Evening with Birdy O'Day (2024), brings theatrical flair to the page—no surprise from someone whose plays have graced the stages of Theatre Passe Muraille and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. He splits his time between Toronto and Winnipeg, possibly in search of the country’s best brunch spot.
Patricia J. Parsons, We Came From Away: That Summer on the Rock (Moonlight Press)
Patricia J. Parsons has journeyed from health communication to humour with enviable ease. A longtime writer and academic (her textbooks are still haunting students across Canada), she’s now applying her finely tuned pen to storytelling with warmth, wit, and just the right dose of Newfoundland nostalgia. Her latest work, We Came From Away, proves that sometimes, going off the beaten path (and possibly getting rained on a lot) can inspire truly funny writing.
Natalie Sue, I Hope This Finds You Well (HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.)
Natalie Sue’s debut novel is already making waves—and laughter—across the country. Born in Canada to Iranian and British parents, Sue’s peripatetic childhood gave her an early appreciation for stories as a way to connect. These days, she writes from Calgary, when she’s not rescuing houseplants or crafting misshapen pottery. I Hope This Finds You Well may be her first book, but her sense of humour is clearly well-seasoned.
The Stephen Leacock Associates are pleased to announce the winners of their 2025 Student Humorous Short Story Competition.
|
Nina Yu
Winner with |
Iris Matthews
Runner-up with |
Hamza Siddiqi
Runner-up with |
The winner will receive $1,500 and each of the two runners-up will receive $750.
This year's competition attracted 59 entries, the most we have had in many years. Thanks to all participants for your enthusiasm and your efforts.
May 15, 2025
Mark your calendars!
See our Gala Weekend page to see details and buy tickets.
April 21, 2025
Matthew and Kathy Webb
