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The
misadventures of a rookie reporter in the backwoods of British Columbia
seems an appropriate recipe for humour and for Mark Leiren-Young, it is a
prize-winning recipe. The Vancouver based playwright/film-maker/writer has
been named the winner of the 2009 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and the
TD Bank Financial Group’s
$15
000 cash prize for his book Never Shoot a Stampede Queen : A Rookie Reporter
in the Cariboo.
The
announcement was made at a noontime luncheon, hosted by the Stephen Leacock
Association, on Thursday, April 30 in Swanmore Hall on the grounds of the
historical Stephen Leacock Memorial Museum in Orillia, Ontario.
President
of the Leacock Association, Wayne Scott, announced the winner before a
standing room-only audience that included several of the nominated authors,
representatives from Canada’s publishing industry, honoured guests,
sponsors and media.
“We
are pleased to see the continuing interest in humour writing in Canada,”
stated Mr. Scott. “This year, we had forty-seven nominees from across
Canada and an outstanding short list. The Leacock association is proud to
continue this tradition of honouring not only some of our best humorists,
but some of our best writers period!”
Never
Shoot A Stampede Queen, Mr. Leiren-Young’s first book, is a memoir of his
adventures living and working in the B.C. interior town of Williams Lake.
Not only does the author recount his encounters with the police, loggers,
the fire department, fellow workers and yes - beauty contest aspirants for
the local rodeo - but he tells his story with both humour and compassion. As
his readers will find out, it is a wonderfully amusing story.
The
other books short-listed for this year’s award were Kill All the Judges by
William Deverell, Kiss the Joy As It Flies by Sheree Fitch, Uproar by Jack
MacLeod and In the Land of the Long Fingernails by Charles Wilkins. Each of
the other finalists will, for the first time in the award’s history, be
awarded cheques for $1500, also courtesy of the TD Bank Financial Group.
The
Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour has been awarded since 1947 as a means to
honour the dean of Canadian humourists and to perpetuate humorous writing in
Canada. Some of our finest authors - Pierre Berton, W.O. Mitchell, Mordecai
Richler and Robertson Davies - have all been recipients of the award over
the past six decades. Last year’s winner was first-time author Terry
Fallis for his political satire The Best Laid Plans. Both the silver Leacock
medal and the cheque will be presented to the winner at the annual Leacock
dinner to be held June 13, 2009 at Geneva Park, near Orillia. |
