Eden Robinson, Rick Mercer & Lindsay Wong longlisted for 2019 Leacock Medal for humour
Jane van Koeverden | | Posted: April 23, 2019 7:56 PM | Last Updated: April 23, 2019
Eden Robinson, Rick Mercer and Lindsay Wong have been longlisted for the 2019 Leacock Medal for humour, an annual $15,000 prize that celebrates the year's funniest book from Canada.
The 2019 longlist is comprised of five novels, four nonfiction books and a graphic novel.
Robinson is nominated for her novel Trickster Drift, the second in her trilogy following an Indigenous teenage boy named Jared who tries to escape his magical lineage.
Mercer is on the longlist for Final Report, a nonfiction book collecting rants and going behind-the-scenes of the writer's beloved CBC comedy show Rick Mercer Report.
Wong is recognized for her debut memoir The Woo-Woo, a darkly comic book that describes the Vancouver-based writer's upbringing amidst family members who blamed their mental illnesses on ghosts and demons. The book was defended by Joe Zee on Canada Reads 2019.
The full longlist includes:
- The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong
- Trickster Drift by Eden Robinson
- The NeverMind of Brian Hildebrand by Martin Myers
- Final Report by Rick Mercer
- Boy Wonders by Cathal Kelly
- Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
- Here So Far Away by Hadley Dyer
- Woman World by Aminder Dhaliwal
- Son of a Critch by Mark Critch
- The Figgs by Ali Bryan
Three finalists will be selected from the longlist on May 6, following the winner announcement on June 8.
Jennifer Craig was last year's winner for her novel Gone to Pot, about a pot-growing grandmother.
Other past winners include Terry Fallis, Patrick deWitt, Cassie Stocks and Stuart McLean.