<p class="biography" <b Mark Leiren-Young</b was born in Vancouver and earned his BFA in theatre and creative writing from the University of Victoria. He is a screenwriter, playwright, performer and freelance journalist. His first book, <i Never Shoot a Stampede Queen</i , won the 2009 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Mark's plays have been produced throughout Canada and the US and seen in Europe and Australia. He has written articles for such publications as <i Time</i , <i Maclean's</i and <i The Utne Reader</i and is a regular contributor to <i The Georgia Straight</i and <i The Tyee</i . Mark is also half of a satirical comedy troupe, Local… Anxiety, that has released two CDs. Mark currently splits his time between Vancouver, BC, and Haiku, Maui. For more on Mark, visit <a href="http://www.leiren-young.com" target="_blank" www.leiren-young.com</a .</p