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     - Award recognizes the most humourous book written by a Canadian and
                            published in Canada -
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ORILLIA, ON, April 1 /CNW/ - Award winner and perennial nominee Will Ferguson and renowned crime writer William Deverell are among the 2010 finalists who were announced today for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

The Orillia-based Stephen Leacock Association awards the annual literary prize to the book judged to be the most humorous one published in Canada, by a Canadian, in the previous year. This national award carries a $15,000 cash prize courtesy of TD Bank Financial Group and the silver Leacock Memorial Medal. The four runners-up will also receive a $1500 cash prize thanks also to TD.

Last year's winner was Mark Leiren-Young who was awarded the medal for his memoir Never Shoot a Stampede Queen: A Rookie Reporter in the Cariboo.

"The Leacock Memorial Medal has a rich history of celebrating literary talent for more than 50 years and is a tribute to homegrown written humour from coast-to-coast," said Roy D'Souza, District Vice President, TD Canada Trust. "Reading these hilarious books provides hours of entertainment and increases literacy in the process. We congratulate all of the finalists."

This year's finalists include William Deverell for his book Snow Job. He was also a Leacock medal finalist last year for his book Kill All the Judges. Author Bill Conall's book The Rock in the Water, is described on its cover as "sunshine sketches of a little island," an appropriate tip of the hat to Professor Leacock. Another memoir, Corked by Kathryn Borel Jr. is a witty account of a father-daughter road trip through the wine regions of France. The book is quirky, bittersweet and touching. Will Ferguson's Beyond Belfast takes us on the author's uproarious hiking trip around Northern Ireland, exploring the history and religious strife - but in a very funny fashion. Glen Chilton's The Curse of the Labrador Duck is an account of tracking down the remains of a long extinct bird in a host of museums worldwide and the humour to be found in such a quest is remarkable.

Six judges from across Canada and a group of 11 readers in the local community will select the winner, to be announced April 29, 2010 at the Stephen Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario.

The Leacock Medal for Humour was first awarded in 1947, three years after the death of the author of Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. Past Leacock winners include W.O. Mitchell, Pierre Berton, Farley Mowat, Stuart Mclean, Mordecai Richler and Robertson Davies.