Bonnie Burnard (January 15, 1945 – March 4, 2017) was a Canadian short story writer and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, best known for her 1999 novel, '' A Good House'',Bonnie Burnard
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

. which won the

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

. Born in

Petrolia, Ontario Petrolia is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is part of Lambton County and is surrounded by Enniskillen, Ontario, Enniskillen Township. It is billed as "Canada's Victorian Oil Town" and is often credited with starting the Petroleum in ...

, she grew up in

Forest, Ontario Forest is a community in Lambton Shores, Ontario, Canada, near Sarnia and Lake Huron in Lambton County. It has a population of 2,876 (2011 Census) and a land area of . Community Forest's high school is North Lambton Secondary School. This ...

, and moved to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, in the late 1970s. In the early 1990s she returned to Southwestern Ontario, and was a resident of

London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...

, where she died on March 4, 2017.

Personal life

Born Bonita Amelia Huctwith on January 15, 1945, in

, she grew up with her four brothers in

. She was the youngest in her family. Her mother's family bred

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a horse breed, breed of draught horse which originated in the seventeenth century, and takes its name from the Clydesdale (district), Clydesdale district of Scotland. The first recorded use of the name "Clydesdale" for the bre ...

s which they showcased at the annual

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF), also known as The Royal, is an annual agricultural fair that is held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the first two weeks of November. It was inaugurated in 1922 in the Coliseum, on the grounds of Exh ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. Her father, Charles, was raised by his relatives after his parents died when he was a child. The couple sold eggs at the Toronto market and later shipped tens of thousands of cases from

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the couple continued to sell eggs to Toronto and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 1967, Burnard completed her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. Burnard married Ronald Burnard, an executive at

London Life Insurance The London Life Insurance Company was a Canadian life insurance company that existed from 1874 to 2020. In 1997, London Life was acquired outright by Great-West Lifeco, the holding company of the Great-West Life Assurance Company, headquartered i ...

in 1973 and spent more than a decade in

, where she raised her three children; Alexandra (known as D'Arcy) (b. Sept. 1975), Melanie (b. Feb. 1978), and David (b. Mar. 1979). She worked as a literary officer at the

Saskatchewan Arts Board The Saskatchewan Arts Board is an arms-length funding agency that provides support to artists, arts organizations and communities. Established in 1948, it was the first agency of its kind in Canada, predating the Canada Council for the Arts by ...

from 1988 to 1990. She moved back to

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario (census population 2,796,367 in 2021) is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula, bounded by Lake Huron (includ ...

in 1992, living briefly in

Strathroy-Caradoc Strathroy-Caradoc is a municipality located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is west of London, Ontario, London. Strathroy-Caradoc is a primarily rural municipality. Industries include turkey and chicken hatching and processing, corn, tobacco ...

and later moving to

; her marriage had ended a few years earlier. She served as a

Writer in Residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

at the

and was a guest lecturer at writing and literary conferences across Canada and around the world (e.g., England, Germany, Sweden, and South Africa). She taught at the

Humber School for Writers The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has three main campuses and locations: the Humber North camp ...

, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

's summer creative writing program Booming Ground, and at the

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

as an adjunct professor in the writing department. Burnard worked briefly for a lawyer, the

Writers' Trust of Canada The Writers' Trust of Canada () is a registered charity which provides financial support to Canadian writers. Founded by Margaret Atwood, Pierre Berton, Graeme Gibson, Margaret Laurence, and David Young (Canadian playwright), David Young; the W ...

, served on the Public Lending Right Commission, as a board member at

Coteau Books Coteau Books was a small, non-profit literary press based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was established in 1975 by Bob Currie, Gary Hyland, Barbara Sapergia and Geoffrey Ursell when they realized that there was little opportunity for Sask ...

and the Saskatchewan Writers Guild. Burnard died on March 4, 2017, at the age of 72. She is survived by three children and four grandchildren.

Literary work

While attending classes at the

University of Regina The University of Regina is a public university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a j ...

, Burnard attended one of the reading sessions by another Canadian novelist,

Marian Engel Marian Ruth Engel (née Passmore; May 24, 1933 – February 16, 1985) was a Canadian novelist and a founding member of the Writers' Union of Canada. Her most famous and controversial novel was ''Bear'' (1976), a tale of erotic love between an ar ...

, which inspired her to write. Engel had visited Regina to read from her the Governor-General's Literary Award-winning novel, ''

Bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

''. Canadian poet and novelist

Ken Mitchell Ken Mitchell (born December 13, 1940) is a Canadian poet, novelist and playwright. Mitchell was raised on a rural farm outside the city of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Mitchell began his post-secondary education as a journalism student at Ryerson I ...

suggested she attend the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts. Her first published work was a short story published simultaneously in ''Saskatchewan Gold'' and the '' NeWest Review''. In 1983,

Oberon Press Oberon Press is an independent Canada, Canadian literary publisher founded in 1966. It focuses mainly on Canadian fiction—particularly short stories—and poetry, but also publishes criticism, history, biography and autobiography. Oberon has ...

published her short stories in ''Coming Attractions. Stories By

Sharon Butala Sharon Butala (born Sharon Annette LeBlanc, 1940 in Nipawin, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian writer and novelist. Life Butala was born in an outpost hospital in Nipawin, Saskatchewan. She was the second of five daughters born to Amy Graham and Achill ...

, Bonnie Burnard & Sharon Sparling''. She edited the 1986 book ''The Old Dance: Love Stories of One Kind or Another'' published by Thunder Creek Publishing Co-operative. In 1988, her first individually authored short story collection ''Women of Influence'' was published. The collection was later translated into French as ''Femmes d'Influence'' by S. Brault in 1995. Her second short story collection ''Casino & Other Stories'' was published in 1994 and won several awards. In 1995, she edited another book ''Stag Line: Stories by Men''. Her short stories were included in many anthologies, among these: ''Best Canadian Stories'' (1984, 1989, 1992), ''Saskatchewan Gold'' (1982), ''Double Bond'' (1984), ''More Saskatchewan Gold'' (1984), ''Sky High'' (1988), ''Last Map'' (1989), ''Soho Square 111: Bloomsbury'' (1990), ''Canadian Short Stories'' (1991), ''Worlds Unrealized'' (1991), ''Beyond Borders'' (1992), ''Kitchen Talk'' (1992), ''Lodestone'' (1993), ''The Second Gates of Paradise: Anthology of Erotic Short Fiction'' (1994), ''Writing from Canada'' (1994), ''Spin on 2'' (1995), ''The Oxford Book of Canadian Short Stories'' (1995), ''Arnold Anthology of Post-Colonial Literature'' (1996), ''Desde El Invierno'' (1996), ''The Best of NeWest'' (1996), ''Mothers and Daughters'' (1997), ''Penguin Anthology of Stories by Canadian Women'' (1997), ''Sunrise to Sunset'' (1997), ''Desire'' (1999) ''Oxford Stories by Canadian Women'' (1999), ''Turn of the Story'' (1999) ''Dropped Threads'' (2001), ''Donde Es Aqui?'' (2002), ''Notes from Home'' (2002), and ''Short Fiction'' by Oxford University (2003). Burnard's first novel '' A Good House'' was published in 1999. The novel received wide acclaim and was an international success. It was a #1 bestseller in Canada. Four editions of the novel were published in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and in twelve other countries from 1999 to 2002. Her second novel ''Suddenly'' was published after ten years in 2009.

Awards

Burnard won several awards for her literary work. Her first individual short story collection ''Women of Influence'' received the Commonwealth Best First Book Award in 1989. Her second short story collection ''Casino & Other Stories'' won "Book of the Year" at the Saskatchewan Book Awards and was shortlisted for "Regina Book Award", both in 1994. Also that same year, this collection received the Periodical Publishers Award and was shortlisted for the

. In 1995, Burnard was awarded the Marian Engel Award given to the body of work by a female Canadian writer. In 1999, she won the

for her novel, '' A Good House''. In 2000, ''A Good House'' fetched her the Canadian Booksellers Association People's Choice Award. Burnard has also received the W. O. Mitchell Bursury at fort San in 1983, the City of Regina Writing Award in 1984, the CBC Literary Competition Award in 1992, and various Saskatchewan Writers Guild awards.

Bibliography

Burnard published the following works under her name: ;Novels * '' A Good House'' (1999), published by HarperFlamingoCanada *''Suddenly'' (2009), ;Short stories *''Coming Attractions. Stories By Sharon Butala, Bonnie Burnard & Sharon Sparling'' (1983) published by

*''Women of Influence'' (1988), published by

*''Casino & Other Stories'' (1994), published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

;Other *''The Old Dance: Love Stories of One Kind or Another'' (1986) published by Thunder Creek Publishing Co-operative *''Stag Line: Stories by Men'' (1995) published by Coteau Books

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnard, Bonnie 1945 births 2017 deaths Canadian women novelists Canadian women short story writers 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers People from Lambton County University of Western Ontario alumni Novelists from Ontario