Drew Hayden Taylor, Amy Spurway and Heidi L.M. Jacobs shortlisted for $15K Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

Drew Hayden Taylor, Amy Spurway and Heidi L.M. Jacobs are the three writers shortlisted for the 2020 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

The award, worth $15,000, is awarded to the best book of humour each year.

Playwright and novelist Taylor is nominated for his play Cottagers and Indians. Cottagers and Indians  explores the relationship between Indigenous residents and recreational cottagers living on the same lake in the Kawarthas region of Ontario and it's based on a true story that took place in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario.

• Drew Hayden Taylor wants to expand how we define Indigenous literature

Spurway is a finalist with her debut novel Crow. The book follows a woman diagnosed with three highly unpredictable and inoperable brain tumours, who abandons her life in Toronto to stay in her mother's scruffy trailer in rural Cape Breton and decides to write a memoir.

Completing the shortlist is Jacobs' novel Molly of the Mall. 

Molly of the Mall tells the story of Molly MacGregor, an aspiring novelist living in Edmonton, who spends much of her time writing university term papers instead of novels and sells shoes in the Largest Mall on Earth. Molly of the Mall explores Molly's love for the written word, romance and her complicated love for her city.

There were 84 books up for consideration this year. 

The winner will be announced on June 5, 2020.

The 2020 Stephen Leacock Memorial Award for Humour gala dinner was cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The winner will receive their medal and prize money as scheduled.

All of the 2020 shortlisted authors will be invited to attend next year's gala in June 2021 for a belated celebration.

Last year's winner was Cathal Kelly for his memoir Boy Wonder.

Other past winners include Patrick deWitt, Cassie Stocks and Terry Fallis.