Welcome to The K. J. Mamer Award for Humour in Student Journalism
Humorists like Jonathan Swift, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, H. L. Mencken, Dorothy Parker, and (yes) Allan Fotheringham played a vital role in reflecting, satirizing, and changing society. The K. J. Mamer Award for Humour in Student Journalism aims to encourage student journalists to carry that tradition forward with originality and integrity.
This prize awards $1,000 to a student journalist for a single exceedingly funny English-language work published in a Canadian university or college newspaper during the academic year between September 2026 and May 2027. It recognizes writing that most demonstrates a talent for wit, dry wit, satire, sarcasm, irony, and/or gallows humour. No fart jokes. And, man, we don't want to look at a lot of puns.
Founded to spotlight an often unappreciated form of journalistic expression, the K. J. Mamer Award honours student writers who use humour to not just entertain but challenge assumptions, reorder thinking, alter the course of young lives, and speak truth to power as only comedians and humorists can.
Award Details
- Prize: $1,000 CAD and a trophy.
- Eligibility: Open to student journalists enrolled (full time or part time) in a recognized public post-secondary institution between September 2026 and June 2027.
- Submission Criteria: A student may submit one English-language work of humour published in a public post-secondary institution's student newspaper or its online equivalent. Cartoons, artwork, and audio/video works will not be accepted. The work must have been published between September 1, 2026 and May 31, 2027.
- Fee for Entry: None.
- Entry Deadline: June 1, 2027.