Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour Shortlist

Today, the shortlist for the 2016 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour was announced.  There are three finalists: 

Poles Apart by Terry Fallis

Eve of Equality, a new feminist blog, becomes an overnight sensation when a wildly popular talk show host stumbles upon it, tweets about it, and promotes it on her show. The anonymous blog is intelligent, thoughtful, and bold, brazenly taking on various injustices in the lives of women. But it’s the post about the controversial entrepreneur behind XY, a new chain of high-end strip clubs opening up across the country that sets off a firestorm. In a matter of hours, the site crashes, its Twitter count jumps from a paltry 19 followers to nearly 250,000, and Eve is suddenly lauded as the new voice of modern feminism. But who, exactly, is the Eve behind Eve of Equality? Meet Everett Kane, aspiring writer and fervent feminist. He writes his erudite blog in his new apartment, at his kitchen table, and his life is about to change forever. (https://www.amazon.ca/Poles-Apart-Terry-Fallis/dp/0771036191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462561391&sr=8-1&keywords=poles+apart)

Republic of Dirt by Susan Juby

Prudence Burns is an overly idealistic Brooklyn girl who has inherited a derelict plot of land named Woefield Farm. Her motley crew of farm hands consists of Earl, an elderly, reclusive bluegrass legend; Seth, an agoraphobic heavy-metal blogger in early recovery from alcoholism; and Sara, an 11-year-old girl with a flock of elite show poultry.  When Prudence is felled by a thyroid condition, things on the farm begin to fall apart, resulting in valiant and sometimes ill-advised attempts to restore domestic bliss. Efforts are complicated by a renegade mule, attempts to turn a hideously ugly child’s playhouse into a high-yield roadside farm stand, and an electrical station’s worth of crossed wires. Will Prudence get well? Will Seth finally get rid of his pesky virginity? Will Earl rescue Sara? And will anyone, ever, admit they might be wrong? (https://www.amazon.ca/Republic-Dirt-Susan-Juby/dp/1443423955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462561244&sr=8-1&keywords=republic+of+dirt)

When the Saints by Sarah Mian

A decade after being cast off to live with strangers, Tabby Saint returns to Solace River, Nova Scotia, to find her childhood home deserted. She quickly latches on to the lonely tavern-keeper, West, who informs her that her family was run out of town. Tabby heads out to nearby Jubilant to find the fragments of her family: her addict sister, Poppy, and her two young kids; her brothers, Bird and Jackie, one crippled by a vicious attack and the other holding a dangerous grudge against the men responsible; a threadbare version of the bulletproof mother she remembers; and an ailing father, a man so vile he is unworthy of forgiveness even on his deathbed. Irreverent and mouthy as they ever were, the Saints are still a lightning rod for trouble. When a new storm arises, Tabby must choose whether to stay or run back the way she came. (https://www.amazon.ca/When-Saints-Sarah-Mian/dp/1443431079/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462561427&sr=8-1&keywords=when+the+saints)

For the complete list of ten books that made the longlist, see https://leacock.ca/.

The winner will be announced on June 11.