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SFU Publishing alumnus Susan Juby named finalist for $25K Leacock Medal for Humour

August 25, 2023
MPub alumnus Susan Juby's comedic murder mystery novel, Mindful of Murder (Photo Credit: Jewel Khemsar)

Master of Publishing (MPub) alumnus and writer Susan Juby’s comedic murder mystery novel, Mindful of Murder, is one of the three titles to be shortlisted, from a list of ten, for the 2023 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

In an interview with CBC Radio last year, Susan discussed her book and expressed her love for comedy: 

"Part of what I do is I like to make people laugh. I like to divert them and give them a little respite from the world. That's always what I'm interested in with my work. So I knew I wanted it to be a funny murder mystery. And as I set out to write it six years ago, I realized that there's nothing very funny about murder. It was a balancing act to try to bring in the comedy without minimizing the sadness of someone having their life taken.” 

Some of her other notable works are Alice, I Think, Nice Recovery: A Memoir and Republic Dirt: Return to Woefield, which won the Leacock Medal for Humour in 2016. The book is a follow-up to Susan's 2011 novel The Woefield Poultry Collective, which was nominated for the prize in 2012.

Her most recent work - Mindful of Murder - is a fun and quirky story, set in an upscale spiritual retreat, where Helen Thorpe, a newly trained butler, finds herself entangled in a thrilling murder mystery. 

Learn more about Susan's latest here

Learn more about Susan's experience at SFU here

Note: The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour is a literary award that celebrates Canadian writers and is a tribute to writer and humorist Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock. This year's winner will be announced on Saturday, September 16 at the 2023 Leacock Gala Dinner