ORILLILA, Ont. - Susan Juby is the winner of this year's Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour awarded for the best book of Canadian literary humour.
The Nanaimo, B.C.-based author was awarded the $15,000 grand prize from TD Financial Group for her novel “Republic of Dirt” (HarperCollins) at a gala in Orillia, Ont., Saturday night.
The winning work is a followup to Juby's 2011 novel “The Woefield Poultry Collective.”
“Republic of Dirt” again centres on Prudence Burns, who is felled by a mysterious health condition as things on her farm begin to fall apart.
Juby was born in the central Alberta town of Ponoka and raised in Smithers, B.C. Her other novels include the critically acclaimed “Getting the Girl” and “Another Kind of Cowboy,” as well as the bestselling “Alice” series.
The runners-up are two-time Leacock Medal winner and Toronto novelist Terry Fallis who was named to the short list for “Poles Apart” (McClelland & Stewart), and Dartmouth, N.S., native Sarah Mian for her debut novel “When The Saints” (HarperCollins). Each will receive a cash prize of $1,500.
