
Natalie Sue wins Leacock Medal for Humour for novel ‘I Hope This Finds You Well'
The $25,000 award is given to the best Canadian book of literary humour published in the previous year.
The novel follows the story of an office worker in her early thirties who one day stumbles upon all of her colleagues' private emails and decides to use their gossip to help save her job.
'I Hope This Finds You Well' was published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
Sue is a Calgary-based author of Iranian and British descent who spent her early years living in western Canada.
Runners-up, who received $5,000 each, were Greg Kearney for 'An Evening With Birdy O'Day,' about an aging hairstylist who lost connection with his childhood best friend when he left to pursue a pop music career, and Patricia J. Parsons for 'We Came From Away: That Summer on the Rock,' which follows one woman's attempt to reconnect her family with Newfoundland.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2025.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Eater
an hour ago
- Eater
A Cult-Favorite Vegan Burger Spot Expands to the Westside
is an editor of the Southern California/Southwest region, who covers the evolving landscape of LA's food scene. Mr. Charlie's Told Me So, an LA-based fast-food restaurant often called the vegan McDonald's, just opened a new location at the edge of Santa Monica and Brentwood. This is the fourth location for Mr. Charlie's, which also operates another Los Angeles location on La Brea, as well as outposts in San Francisco and Sydney, Australia. The opening brings Mr. Charlie's signature plant-based Not a Hamburger and Not a Cheeseburger to the neighborhood, alongside Not Chicken Nuggets and Frowny Fries; a Mr. Frowny's meal set comes with a Not Burger, fries, and a drink. Plant-based ice cream and breakfast Mr. Muffins are also available. The opening in Brentwood is just the beginning of Mr. Charlie's expansion plans. Arizona-based station ABC 15 reports that the restaurant plans to open 18 locations across the state, with the first slated to open in Scottsdale later this year. Mr. Charlie's is located at 262 26th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90402. A GoFundMe to support chef Joshua Gil's fight against cancer Chef Joshua Gil's partner, Tharini Shanmugarajah (formerly Mirate, Maison Kasai), set up a GoFundMe to help him in his fight against colorectal cancer. The funds will go to support his ongoing care and support his transportation from Florida, where he is currently undergoing chemotherapy, back to his home, Los Angeles. Summer specials at Alfalfa Fast casual salad and wrap restaurant Alfalfa just debuted two summer specials, available from August 20 to September 20. Head to the restaurant's Larchmont or Santa Monica locations to try the Summer Harvest Grain Bowl and the Summer Berry and Lemon Olive Oil Cake. Tsubaki visits Wildcrust for a collaborative pizza night After the inaugural collaboration with Firstborn's Anthony Wang, Wildcrust's Miles Okabayashi will welcome Tsubaki chef de cuisine Klementine Song to the restaurant on August 26 for round two. The pair will prepare two collaborative pizzas: a char siu pork yakisoba pie and a pizza topped with mushroom skewers, charred bell peppers, and garlic miso sauce. Wildcrust's full pizza menu will also be available. Book a reservation on Resy.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sarah Nicole Landry didn't get the call to appear in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. At 40, she's going to 'keep working' to get there
The Canadian content creator known online as "The Birds Papaya" spoke to Yahoo Canada about chasing her dreams, turning 40 and more. Sarah Nicole Landry was particularly contemplative when she celebrated a milestone birthday this past New Year's Eve. Landry began her 30s as a newly-divorced single mom living with her parents and working two jobs to provide for her three children. On Dec. 31, 2024, she celebrated her 40th birthday with her husband Shane, her now teenage children and her fourth child, whom she gave birth to in 2021. The change in family structure on its own is a major transformation, but in the midst of rebuilding her life, Landry became one of the country's most successful content creators — with millions of followers across social media platforms. 'When I turned 40 I decided to actually sit down and say goodbye to my 30s. It was an incredibly emotional process,' Landry said in a recent interview with Yahoo Canada. The Guelph, Ont. native, known online to many as 'The Birds Papaya' made sure to take stock of her personal and professional accomplishments. On her birthday, Landry shared a series of photos to Instagram including a black and white nude portrait of herself holding 40th birthday candles. She included what can be interpreted as a farewell and thank you letter to the last decade. 'The 30s changed my life,' she wrote. 'The 30s saved my life.' Keep reading to learn more from Landry about turning 40, her dream of appearing in SI Swimsuit and more. A rookie turned pro Despite getting married at 19 and becoming a mother in her 20s, Landry said it was a very 'raw, rookie version of adulthood.' She found herself in unknown waters in her 30s. There were moments that tested her limits but, as they say, a smooth sea never made for a skilled sailor. 'Forty feels like the training wheels are off…,' Landry said. 'I really spent a lot of my 20s and 30s being so afraid of how I was going to be perceived — and I still am. But there is so much more peace now in understanding that you can't do anything or step forward in life unless you're willing to do it uncomfortably, cringey and without having all the answers.' Landry is determined to push her own boundaries for what she once thought 40 would feel like and look like. 'I've applied for opportunities that are what most people apply for in their 20s,' she said. 'Why wouldn't I? There's more things to do and places that I can continue striving towards.'A goal within reach In June 2024, Landry walked in Sports Illustrated's fashion show during Miami Swim Week. She considers it to be one of her 'proudest moments' to be able to represent women with stomachs similar to hers. She had applied many times to be a part of SI Swimsuit, she hoped that her appearance on the runway meant she was one step closer to her dream. But when it came time to cast the new issue, she didn't receive a call. Landry said she had to do a 'lot of work' to process her feelings of not making the magazine, but remained determined to support her friends, including Canadian model Lauren Chan, who became the first openly gay woman to appear on the cover. She travelled to New York in May to attend the magazine's launch party — wearing a black dress with sheer lace bodice. The look earned criticism online, which Landry expertly dismissed. The look was meant to be an 'artistic interpretation' of women's bodies and intentionally showed off her belly button without shapewear. 'I taped my stomach down as a teenager,' she explained. 'I know that people could look at me and go, 'You know you really could have used some shapewear there.' The 16-year-old me really could have used not taping her stomach. So, it's not really about them. Sometimes it's about me. It's like moving forward in a healing way knowing that someone younger won't see a belly like theirs if we're all walking around in shapewear. And [shapewear is] OK, but they won't see it if it's constantly covered or disguised.' Despite not making the magazine in 2025, Landry remains determined to keep trying. "I don't want to squash a dream because I heard 'no.' We're going to hear no in our life and be rejected," she said. "For the longest time, I didn't even tell people I was applying for Sports Illustrated because then the world would know that I wasn't the last year, I'm getting rid of some of that inner turmoil and noise that it's 'embarrassing' that I wasn't chosen. Instead, it's embarrassing if I didn't try. ... I still believe that there's a possibility. I still believe that there is more to do and I'm going to keep working for it." Let's hear it for the boy(s) Although people — many of them men — criticize her body online, Landry has received messages of thanks from some of her followers' husbands. They'll reach out to say they've noticed a change in their partner's confidence, whether it's wearing a bathing suit or choosing to be intimate again. Many will add, "I think you have something to do with that." "I've heard this several times, dozens of these messages and these are men who love these women and wish they could see how beautiful they are," she said. Landry credits her own husband, Shane, for loving her at all sizes. "I don't think he's ever really commented on my body. He's seen me [fluctuate] a good 60 pounds in weight and he's never acted differently and he's never commented differently. He's always been loving and supportive." The good, the bad and the ugly comments Landry has heard every kind of praise and criticism during her 17 years as a content creator. While some people opt to message her directly, many leave hurtful comments for her audience to see — and she'll delete it. "I'm trying to create a safe space for people to show up in their lives no matter what they look like —and that includes myself," she explained. "Safeguarding myself from some of the negative comments that I see out there… I don't want to hear that today and I don't want somebody else to read that comment, either. That's not for us." Landry is acutely aware that there are some people online who feel entitled to police and monitor bodies. It's similar to people demanding answers when influencers lose a significant amount of weight and simultaneously receive both praise for becoming slimmer and persecution for allegedly using GLP-1s. For Landry, if it's a losing game to please every one, why even try? "In the span of 30 seconds I'll be called lazy, unhealthy — terrible things about my body — ugly, whatever," she said. "At the same time, 'Are you on injections? Are you losing weight?… The whiplash of it makes me think 'God, we're never going to win.'" Despite her success and body acceptance message, Landry said she's offered "mommy makeovers" several times a year. Although she has no qualms with anyone opting for surgery, she often thinks of a survey from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons which says that 62 per cent of women would opt for a mommy makeover if they could afford it. "If more than 60 per cent of mothers want that surgery and can't afford it, what does that mean for them right now?" Landry said adding that she feels "generally ok" in her body. "I want to show up for the more than 60 per cent who can't afford them and still deserve to fully show up in their lives. I'm not doing it as a martyr. I just know that there is love, confidence and a beautiful life… there's all of those things still available and still possible even if it's rare."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Amid 'RushTok' craze, sorority season has parents spending big and stressing hard
For some mothers, the sorority rush isn't just their daughter's rite of passage — it's theirs too. With "rush week" underway on campuses across the country and documented amid the viral "RushTok" trend, the spotlight is on not only potential new members but also their moms. Some of them go to great lengths to secure a coveted bid for their daughters in ways even fellow parents say can turn an already punishing process into a high-stakes family drama. "For every girl going through rush, there's a mom behind her [who] wants it as bad as she does," rush coach Brandis Bradley said in the trailer for the new Lifetime series, "A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!" With Rush Week Back In The Spotlight, Here Is The Real Price Tag Of Joining A Sorority "I might want it more," one mom admitted in the same trailer. Another said she was living "vicariously" through her daughter's experience. And yet another said that a rush budget, to her, is "nonexistent." Read On The Fox News App Some families spend as much as $10,000 preparing their daughters — from luxury accessories and designer wardrobes to stylists and coaches charging as much as $5,000 to guide girls through the interview process, according to reports. That's all before the annual dues and housing fees, which can top $15,000 if the young women are accepted into a chapter. College Sorority 'Cold Rooms' Get The Hot Spotlight In Viral Social Media Trend "When the personal and emotional investment of a parent in their child's activities becomes extreme, it's usually motivated by one of two simple explanations," said Seth Meyers, a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist and host of the YouTube channel "Dr. Seth: Psychologist." "The parents either didn't have those opportunities themselves and try to overcompensate for that loss by making sure their child has those opportunities, or they had a particular experience and strongly believe their child having the same experience is important for both the child's future and for the closeness of the mother-daughter bond," Meyers told Fox News Digital. But too much involvement can backfire. Daughters may feel added anxiety about failing, disappointing their mothers or admitting disinterest in something their parents want so much, Meyers warned. "It can be easy to forget how challenging the college years are," he added. "The experience of rushing – while exciting – temporarily adds to their stress and also yields serious upset if the process doesn't go the way they hoped." Sorority Ties Run Deep For Molly Sims, Carrie Underwood And Other Southern Stars As Rush Season Begins While fraternity recruitment is often described as a casual "open invite," the sorority rush can be "downright cruel," Daniel Karon, an Ohio-based attorney and fraternity chapter advisor, told Fox News Digital. "It can involve dances, skits, dressing a certain way, submitting resumes, recommendation letters or portfolios, touring each house at least once and suffering through a mutual selection process," said Karon, who is a fraternity alum himself and parent of kids who were part of Greek life. "This is how sorority rush worked in my wife's day – and it's how it still works today," he added. "It's a punishing, unnecessary and twisted process that does nothing to facilitate and foster the mental health that's so essential to freshmen women." While parents attempt to tip the scales, others argue the best approach is to step back. Marva Bailer, a University of Maryland Kappa Delta alum and mother of a sorority graduate, said she paid her own sorority fees while working her way through college. "My attitude has always been, 'Figure things out yourself, because I'm not going to be there next to you in the interview or the office,'" Bailer told Fox News Digital. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Lifestyle Newsletter "But there are many moms who still feel they need to pick up all the school supplies, lost lunches and shoes that their kids forgot." Bailer, an Atlanta-based author, said the sorority rush can feel like an outlet for parents grappling with identity as children leave home. "Rush feels like an opportunity to still influence their daughter's experience," she said. "But [children] have to experience failure, disappointment and make decisions on their own," she added. "Parents have to let go. You can't put a Band-Aid on everything." She emphasized that sorority life offers far more than themed parties and photo ops. Her daughter's chapter, Sigma Kappa at the University of Georgia, for example, helped raise $1 million for the Children's Miracle Network while she was there. For more Lifestyle articles, visit "Rush looks like a party, but it's really about skills – planning, community bonding and networking," Bailer article source: Amid 'RushTok' craze, sorority season has parents spending big and stressing hard Solve the daily Crossword