Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio is a community worker, public speaker, tour guide in Toronto's Little Manila, and founder of Filipino Talks-- an initiative that builds bridges between Canadian educators and Filipino families. Her debut novel, Reuniting With Strangers (Douglas & McIntyre), was one of CBC's Best Books of 2023 and was a finalist for the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award. After completing her Masters in Immigration and Settlement Studies, she studied at the Humber School for Writers and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Born and raised in Sarnia, Ontario, she is a founding member of Pluma-- a collective of Toronto-based Filipino writers.