The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour is one of Canada’s best-known literary prizes and has been awarded to the author of the best Canadian book of humour since 1947.  It is Canada’s sole literary award for humour.  But now, it needs your help to survive.  

Your contribution to the Stephen Leacock prize for humour will support not only the award of the annual Medal, but also the prizes for the short-listed authors, the prizes for the annual student essay competition, and will fund writers-in-residence programs at the Stephen Leacock National Historic site and other literary events for students, authors and the general public. Your support will help to continue a legacy that has benefitted hundreds of Canadian writers (both well-known and lesser known) over the award’s 74-year history.  

The Leacock Medal has become one of the outstanding awards in the literary world, and has been won by such well-known authors as Eric Nicol, Robertson Davies, Pierre Berton, Mordecai Richler, W.O. Mitchell, Farley Mowat, Arthur Black, Stuart McLean and Will Ferguson.  No less than nineteen Leacock Medal winners have been inducted into the Order of Canada.  The medal has also been won by such authors as Joseph Kertes, Terry Fallis and Cassie Stocks, who were lesser-known when they won the prize, and who credit the award with changing their lives by jump-starting their writing careers.   An important feature of the Leacock Medal is that it is one of the few literary awards that accepts submissions of self-published books, which makes it accessible to writers who are not already represented by publishers.  This year, the medal attracted 84 entries, the most ever. 

Stephen Leacock Associates is a non-profit charity that awards the Medal, and is run by a small volunteer board.  For many years, the medal was sponsored by a major Canadian financial institution, to whom we are very much indebted for their longtime support.  However, a few years ago the institution changed its charitable aims and three years ago funding ceased.  Since then, the Associates have relied upon their financial reserves to fund the last three years’ medal awards, and those reserves are now at a perilously low level.  

Please donate now to ensure the continued existence of this award that is so vitally important to the Canadian literary community, and share the information about this campaign with your friends, relations and associates. 

For more information about the Leacock Medal, its storied history, its authors and our fundraising goals, please visit our web site at https://www.leacock.ca/.  

If you are not comfortable with making a donation using your credit or debit card, you may send a cheque or money order (payable to Stephen Leacock Associates) to P.O. Box 854, Orillia  ON, L3V 6K8.  You will still be eligible for any of the recognition items shown on this page, and your donation will be included in the campaign totals.