Edmonton-raised Heidi Jacobs wins Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour

Heidi Jacobs is this year’s winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

The University of Windsor librarian received the $15,000 honour Friday for her Edmonton-set anti-romance, Molly of the Mall: Literary Lass and Purveyor of Fine Footwear.

Published by NeWest Press, the book follows aspiring novelist Molly MacGregor’s unromantic travails as a shoe seller at the West Edmonton Mall.

Born and raised in Edmonton, Jacobs worked a variety of retail jobs, including in footwear, while studying at the University of Alberta.

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The runners-up are Amy Spurway for her novel Crow, published by Goose Lane Editions, and Drew Hayden Taylor for his play Cottagers and Indians, published by Talonbooks. They will each receive $3,000.

WATCH: Drew Hayden Taylor talks about new play: Cottagers and Indians

Organizers say the honourees will receive their prizes by mail after this year’s festivities were cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The authors will also be belatedly celebrated at a 2021 gala dinner in Orillia, Ont.