About Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio
Short Bio for Introductions:
Pronunciation Tip: Jenna-lee Austria Bon-ih-FA-sho
After working in multiple Ontario school boards as a settlement worker, public speaker, and researcher, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio founded Filipino Talks-- a program that builds bridges between educators and Filipino families. She completed an International Studies BA at Trent University, an Immigration and Settlement Studies MA at Toronto Metropolitan University, and writing programs at the Humber School for Writers and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Jennilee’s work has been published in Geist, TAYO Literary Magazine, Changing the Face of Canadian Literature, Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing, and more. As a Toronto-based community worker, youth mentor, Little Manila tour guide, and founding member of Salaysay (pronounced Sah-lye-SIGH), a collective of local Filipino-Canadian authors, Jennilee spends a lot of time thinking about the Filipino community-- and celebrating them, too. Her debut novel, Reuniting With Strangers (Douglas & McIntyre) was a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards and the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Authors Award, named one of CBC’s Best Books of 2023, won the silver medal for Multicultural Fiction at the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and was longlisted for Canada Reads 2024. Connect with her @Jennilee_A_B
Photo by Shari Ramos for Pinoys on Parliament.
Hosting a Little Manila walking tour for Filipino Heritage Month. With Kabalen staff and fellow tour guides, Diana Roldan and Ysh Cabana.
Facilitating an art and settlement workshop with newcomer students at the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
Extended Bio:
Pronunciation Tip: Jenna-lee Austria Bon-ih-FA-sho
As a writer, speaker, researcher, journalist, settlement worker, youth mentor, Little Manila tour guide, communications coordinator, and founder of Filipino Talks, Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio’s work has always centered around shining a spotlight on newcomer communities.
She has a BA in International Studies from Trent University and an MA in Immigration and Settlement Studies from Toronto Metropolitan University, and a post-graduate certificate from the Humber School for Writers. She completed a 2019 Emerging Writers Intensive program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity.
Hosting a Filipino Talks Community Partners Talk Show at the Toronto District School Board to introduce newcomer students to volunteer opportunities and free community programming.
She has counselled newcomer families and worked with equity and diversity departments in the Toronto District School Board, the Toronto Catholic District School Board, the Toronto Public Libraries, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and Halton Catholic District School Board. She has also developed non-profit communications and outreach strategies, worked in the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and served as the Settlement and Education Partnerships in Toronto Program Coordinator for the largest team of school and library settlement workers nationwide.
Covering KAMP, a Filipino-Canadian newcomer youth camp in British Columbia for The Philippine Reporter.
Her role as a Community Policy Analyst for the Filipino Youth Transitions in Canada project with the York Centre for Asian Research led to her work as a researcher with the HCDSB Pinoy Project to study the needs of Filipino students, parents, and guardians in the Halton Catholic District School Board. The study has been published by Fernwood Publishing in Precarious Employment: Causes, Consequences and Remedies.
With Salaysay members and supporters at a Filipinx-Canadian literary event at Another Story Bookshop.
Combining her love of public speaking, research, settlement work, and mentorship, she created Filipino Talks. She has surveyed over 1200 Filipino students across the Greater Toronto Area, and has used the data to create impactful programming through youth workshops, “Letters to Mama” reunification videos, and professional development sessions for educators. Her work has been featured on Filipino TV, Dual Citizen, and more.
Through the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Toronto Arts Council, Jennilee often writes stories inspired by newcomers in Toronto’s Little Manila, where she been a tour guide with Heritage Toronto and Myseum of Toronto, and featured on CBC Metro Morning. She is a founding member of Salaysay (pronounced Sah-lye-SIGH), a collective of Toronto-based Filipino-Canadian authors.
Her short stories can be found in Geist, Akdang Dayo, LooseLeaf Literary Magazine and TAYO Literary Magazine. In 2017, an excerpt titled “Belonging at Bathurst and Wilson” won an emerging author’s award from the Ontario Book Publishers Organization. She was shortlisted for Room’s 2019 Short Forms contest, and published in Changing the Face of Canadian Literature: A Diverse Canadian Anthology by Guernica Editions. In 2022, she was longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize. Her debut novel, Reuniting With Strangers (Douglas & McIntyre) was a finalist for the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Authors Award, named one of CBC’s Best Books of 2023, won silver in Multicultural Fiction at the 2024 Independent Publisher Book Awards, was longlisted for Canada Reads 2024 and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Awards. In addition, a chapter was published in Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing (Cormorant Books), and she was a finalist for The Writers’ Union of Canada’s 2024 Annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers.
Jennilee is represented by Hilary McMahon and Bridgette Kam at Westwood Creative Artists.
Connect with her @Jennilee_A_B