Bonnie Burnard (January 15, 1945 – March 4, 2017) was a Canadian short story writer and novelist, best known for her 1999 novel, A Good House,[1] which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
[3] Her mother's family bred Clydesdale horses which they showcased at the annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto.
The couple sold eggs at the Toronto market and later shipped tens of thousands of cases from Ottawa to England.
[3][5] She served as a Writer in Residence at the University of Western Ontario and was a guest lecturer at writing and literary conferences across Canada and around the world (e.g., England, Germany, Sweden, and South Africa).
[3] Canadian poet and novelist Ken Mitchell suggested she attend the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts.
[citation needed] In 1988, her first individually authored short story collection Women of Influence was published.
Her first individual short story collection Women of Influence received the Commonwealth Best First Book Award in 1989.
[7][11] Also that same year, this collection received the Periodical Publishers Award and was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
[6][10] In 2000, A Good House fetched her the Canadian Booksellers Association People's Choice Award.