This year’s finalists include William Deverell for his book Snow Job. He was also a Leacock medal finalist last year for his book Kill All the Judges.

Another memoir, Corked by Kathryn Borel Jr. is a witty account of a father-daughter road trip through the wine regions of France. The book is quirky, bitter-sweet and touching. 

Glen Chilton’s The Curse of the Labrador Duck is an account of tracking down the remains of a long extinct bird in a host of museums world-wide and the humour to be found in such a quest is remarkable.

Author Bill Conall’s book The Rock in the Water, is described on its cover blurb as “sunshine sketches of a little island,” an appropriate tip of the hat to Professor Leacock. 

Will Ferguson’s Beyond Belfast takes us on the author’s uproarious hiking trip around Northern Ireland, exploring the history and religious strife – but in a very funny fashion.