History was made with the Leacock Medal for Humour this year.
For one, all three finalists were women — but the real Leacockian twist came when the winner "almost dropped dead" over the weekend.
“It really sucks that she couldn't be here,” said Juliet Craig, who accepted the award on behalf of her mother, Jennifer Craig, who was unable to make it to the Saturday dinner as she was recovering from a stroke she had the previous night. “She was so disappointed she couldn't be here in person.
“She did say in advance, 'If I'm gonna drop dead, let it be on Sunday when the whole event's over,'” Juliet Craig said in an interview at YMCA Geneva Park Conference Centre in Ramara, where she accepted the award on behalf of her 84-year-old mother.
“She's going to feel extremely proud, and elated and excited and honoured,” she said. “Of all the writing awards she could win, this would be No. 1 for her.”
Having grown up in hard times, during the war, Jennifer Craig, of Nelson, B.C., appreciates the role humour can play.
“She values dealing with things in a humorous way and laughing and enjoying life,” her daughter said.
Making history with all three women authors being shortlisted will hopefully be an inspiration to other aspiring female humour writers, said Nathan Taylor, president of the Leacock Associates, which awards the medal and $15,000 prize.
“She's very funny in person and she's very quick, especially for an 84-year-old,” he said, talking about his interaction with Jennifer Craig during a meet-the-authors event Friday night. “She has a very current type of wit and I'm sure she would have just killed it up here as well, but I think her daughter did just as well.”
Jennifer Craig's book, Gone to Pot, also has a Leacockian feel to it, said Terry Fallis, who won the award in 2008 and 2015.
“I’ve been quite high on this novel ever since I read it,” he said while introducing the novel to the crowd. “If you’ve read this novel, you know there’s a more mischievous and subversive meaning to the title.”
The book takes the protagonist, a senior, through the process of setting up a homegrown weed business. Not to be considered a how-to guide on growing marijuana, said Fallis, it’s simply a funny and fulfilling read.
Laurie Gelman was shortlisted for the medal for her book, Class Mom.
“She taps into the riddles and conspiracies of everyday life,” said Trevor Cole, who won the award in 2011. “Gelman is observant, seeing the larger meaning in small things.”
She gets people, from the power of being included to the hurtfulness of a vain look, he said.
Scaachi Koul, a BuzzFeed Canada culture writer, was also shortlisted for her book, One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter.
“It’s a look at growing up as a woman of colour in small-town Canada,” explained Tom Rose, collections and programs supervisor at the Leacock Museum. “The book had me laughing within five minutes and I was laughing until the end.”
It’s funny and it’s unabashedly honest, he said.
“This is a book I want my nieces and nephews to read,” said Rose, “because I want them to know what a strong, intelligent woman sounds like.”
The three finalists had come a long way, competing with dozens of other submissions to make it to the top, said Bette Walker, award chair with the Leacock Associates.
Seventy books were submitted for this year's award, and they were read by judges from coast to coast and six readers in the Orillia area, Walker said.
All judging marks were sent to an independent adjudicator, who calculated the results to determine a winner, she explained.
Jennie Fallis, one of the Orillia readers, enjoyed reading work from a lot of first-time authors.
“It’s really refreshing in the literary landscape of Canada and Canadian authors,” she said. “It’s nice to see strong female writers winning awards, selling books, without having to change their names as they did in the past.”
It’s also nice to see authors with diverse backgrounds sharing their experiences through humour and their writing, she said.
The night was filled with laughter and some sadness as 2003 medal winner Dan Needles, "mayor of Mariposa" for a decade, announced his retirement from the post.
Despite the bad news, the crowd enjoyed all the jokes cracked by the veteran humorists gathered under one roof.
“I thought it was a great evening with great humour and great fun,” said Sue Mallinson. “This, tonight, is a nice, congenial, lovely atmosphere and the food has been really lovely, too.”
The winners of the 2018 Student Humorous Short Story Competition, announced about a month ago, were also all female.
Mallinson said she was impressed by the maturity and astuteness of the students, who read their works at the Friday night event, part of the Leacock Medal gala weekend activities.
For more information about the medal and the Leacock Associates, visit leacock.ca.
