
Alberta writer Natalie Sue sees her debut novel become finalist for Leacock humour writing prize
Calgary writer Natalie Sue's debut novel about the absurdities of office life is one of three finalists for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
The $25,000 award, named for essayist and humorist Stephen Leacock, honours the best Canadian book of literary humour published in the past year.
Sue's I Hope This Finds You Well, which centres on a burnt-out office worker whose unsent email drafts accidentally go public, is on the short list.
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Also making the cut is Toronto author and playwright Greg Kearney's An Evening With Birdy O'Day, about an aging hairstylist revisiting his friendship with a washed-up pop idol.
Rounding out the list is Toronto writer Patricia J. Parsons' We Came From Away: That Summer on the Rock, which follows a feuding family's Newfoundland road trip.
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The winner will be announced June 21 at a gala dinner in Orillia, Ont.
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Natalie Sue's debut novel 'I Hope This Finds You Well' has won this year's Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. The $25,000 award is given to the best Canadian book of literary humour published in the previous year. The novel follows the story of an office worker in her early thirties who one day stumbles upon all of her colleagues' private emails and decides to use their gossip to help save her job. 'I Hope This Finds You Well' was published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Sue is a Calgary-based author of Iranian and British descent who spent her early years living in western Canada. Runners-up, who received $5,000 each, were Greg Kearney for 'An Evening With Birdy O'Day,' about an aging hairstylist who lost connection with his childhood best friend when he left to pursue a pop music career, and Patricia J. Parsons for 'We Came From Away: That Summer on the Rock,' which follows one woman's attempt to reconnect her family with Newfoundland. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2025.