There are announcements that make you smile, and then there are those that confirm you’re exactly where you need to be.

Canadian writer Meredith Hambrock has just won the 2026 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. With a $25,000 purse, this isn’t just an award—it’s a national institution, honouring the legacy of humourist Stephen Leacock since 1947.

Meredith won for her razor-sharp novel, She’s A Lamb!. It follows Jessamyn St. Germain, an actor fueled by the absolute certainty that she is destined for superstardom.The novel is also a brilliant homage to The Sound of Music—the exact show Jessamyn is dying to star in at a Vancouver theatre. While the world might see her as delusional, the book tracks her relentless quest, brilliantly exposing the sheer depths she’ll sink to for her shot.

It’s incisively funny, wildly smart, and the momentum doesn’t stop on the page. The book is already slated for a feature film adaptation by 4am Film Studios, with the screenplay adapted by none other than Meredith herself. Talk about total creative control.

Meredith is a novelist and television writer. She’s no stranger to the literary spotlight—her story You Should Go Over There was longlisted for the 2016 CBC Short Story Prize, and she’s also the author of the novel Other People’s Secrets.

See the review in the Literary Review of Canada (Crushing It).

Other past winners include Patrick deWitt, Wayne Johnston, Heidi L.M Jacobs, Robertson Davies, Pierre Berton, Farley Mowat, Paul Quarrington, Mordecai Richler, Stuart McLean, Terry Fallis, Susan Juby and Cassie Stocks.