The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual Canadian

literary award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded Literature, literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award c ...

presented for the best book of

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

written in English by a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

writer, published or

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

in the previous year."Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour"
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

. The silver

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

, designed by sculptor Emanuel Hahn, is a tribute to well-known Canadian

humorist A humorist is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking. A raconteur is one who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way. Henri Bergson writes that a humorist's work grows from viewing the morals of society ...

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

(1869–1944) and is accompanied by a cash prize of . It is presented in the late spring or early summer each year, during a banquet ceremony in or near Leacock’s hometown of

Orillia Orillia () is a city in Ontario, Canada, about 30 km (18 mi) north-east of Barrie in Simcoe County. It is located at the confluence of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a Lis ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The medal is one of the oldest

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

prizes in Canada and is the only one awarded to a work of humour. It has been awarded every year since 1947 with the exception of 1959 when it was reported that no worthy entries had been submitted.

History

The ''Stephen Leacock Associates'', the

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organising body behind the award, was founded in 1946 by a loose group of Leacock’s friends and supporters. Although administered and presented separately today, the award was announced as part of the

Governor General's Awards The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in its early years."Prof. Lower's History Gets Vice-Regal Award". ''

Winnipeg Tribune ''The Winnipeg Tribune'' was a metropolitan daily newspaper serving Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada from January 28, 1890, to August 27, 1980. The paper was founded by R.L. Richardson and D.L. McIntyre who acquired the press and premises of the old ' ...

'', April 19, 1947."Win Governor General's Awards in Annual Literary Contest". ''

Ottawa Journal The ''Ottawa Journal'' was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980. It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the ''Ottawa Evening Journal''. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the ...

'', June 11, 1949."Governor General's Awards Announced for Two Authors". ''

'', May 23, 1953. Each year the Associates’

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

appoints a panel of suitable judges from around the country, and also commissions readers who rank and select from submitted works a long list of ten books, which is later narrowed to a

short list A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

of three books (previously five). The shortlist is typically announced in early May. In 1990, for the only time in the award's history they did not whittle the initial longlist down to a shortlist but simply announced a shortlist of ten books which were all considered for the final award."Long short-list for Leacock award". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', April 3, 1990. The cash prize began in 1970, as a $2,500 award co-sponsored by Manulife Insurance and the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

. The following decades saw gradual increases in the amount of the prize under a number of

sponsors Sponsor or sponsorship may refer to a person or organization with some role (especially one of responsibility) regarding another person or organisation: *Sponsor (commercial), supporter of an event, activity, or person *Sponsor (legislative), a per ...

, reaching its current value of $15,000 in 2009, sponsored by the

TD Bank Financial Group Toronto-Dominion Bank (), doing business as TD Bank Group (), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The bank was created on February 1, 1955, through the merger of the Bank of ...

. As of 2018, both remaining shortlist authors each receive cash prizes of $3,000. In 1969 the Associates established a quarterly newsletter called ''The Newspacket'' to commemorate the centenary of the author’s birth. The publication printed excerpts from nominated books and showcased Canadian humour writing. More recently, the Associates have communicated through its newletter ''Leacock Matters.'' In 1977 the group established an annual Student Award for Humour, which honours and encourages young Canadian writers from secondary and

post-secondary Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

levels with recognition and cash prizes for the top three.

Organization

The Leacock Award is ceremonially led by a past winner or nominee, who holds the honorary title "Mayor of Mariposa"."Barwin takes home humour award"
''Orillia Packet and Times'', June 10, 2017. The duties of this position include giving a speech at the awards ceremony, and representing the Leacock Foundation in other public appearances including

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

's annual Leacock Lecture. Held by

Dan Needles Dan Needles is best known as the playwright behind the popular Wingfield Series, which has played across Canada for many years. It was performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, Mirvish Productions Toronto and was aired, in part, on the Cana ...

until 2018, the position was taken over by

Drew Hayden Taylor Drew Hayden Taylor (born 1 July 1962) is an Indigenous Canadian playwright, author and journalist. Life and career Born in Curve Lake, Ontario, Taylor is of both Ojibwe and white ancestry. About his background Taylor says: "I plan to start my ...

in 2019 and renamed "Grand Chief of Mariposa" to reflect Taylor's

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

heritage. Subsequently, the 2011 Leacock Medal winner Trevor Cole served as the Honorary Mayor for two years with the 1993 medalist

John Levesque John Levesque (born 1953) is a Canadian novelist, journalist, and humour columnist whose recognitions include the 1993 Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour awarded for his book of essays ''Waiting for Aquarius,'' published in 1993. In addition to an ...

selected to assume the post in 2025.

The Medal

The medal, cast in silver and designed by Canadian sculptor Emanuel Hahn, is two inches (5.08 cm) in diameter and approximately 0.125 inches (.32 cm) thick. It weighs 3.125 ounces (88.59 g). On the obverse is a profile of Stephen Leacock’s head and the dates of his lifespan (1869–1944). The words "Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal Founded 1946" are worked around the perimeter. The reverse side features the words "Orillia “The Sunshine Town” Award for Canadian Humour". A jolly face represents the sun resting on waves, and the latitude and longitude of Orillia, Ontario, Canada, appear in small figures at the top. Two small fish swim beneath the waves, and two large mosquitoes are depicted — one on the sun, the other in the water. Below the design, there is room for the winner’s name and date to be inscribed, and below that a small maple leaf emblem.

Winners and nominees

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

References

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Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

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External links

Leacock Medal for Humour Website
Canadian literary awards Comedy and humor literary awards Canadian comedy and humour awards Awards established in 1946 1946 establishments in Canada English-language literary awards