Joan Louise Barfoot (born May 17, 1946) is a Canadian novelist. Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, she attended the University of Western Ontario.

Barfoot is a former reporter and editor for various newspapers including the Windsor Star, the Toronto Sun and the London Free Press. She has published 10 novels, including, Luck (2005), which was a nomineee for the 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her previous novel, Critical Injuries (2001), was longlisted for the 2002 Man Booker Prize.

In 1986, her novel Dancing in the Dark (1982) became a movie of the same name, starring Martha Henry. It won three Genie Awards, including Best Art Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.

Barfoot's work has been compared internationally with that of Anne Tyler, Carol Shields, Margaret Drabble, Fay Weldon and Margaret Atwood.

In 1992, she won the Marian Engel Award, presented each year by the Writers' Trust of Canada to a female Canadian novelist who is in the middle of her career.

She lives in London, Ontario.

[edit] Bibliography

• Abra, 1978 (UK title: Gaining Ground)
• Dancing in the Dark, 1982
• Duet for Three, 1985 ISBN 0771596804
• Family News, 1989
• Plain Jane, 1992
• Charlotte and Claudia Keeping in Touch, 1994
• Some Things About Flying, 1997
• Getting Over Edgar, 1999 ISBN 1552630110
• Critical Injuries, 2001
• Luck, 2005 ISBN 0676977006
• Exit Lines, 2009 ISBN 9780307371720

[edit] Awards and nominations

• WH Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award for Abra, 1978
• Marian Engel Award, 1992
• Trillium Book Award shortlist for Critical Injuries, 2001
• Man Booker Prize long list for Critical Injuries, 2002
• Scotiabank Giller Prize shortlist for Luck, 2005
• Huron University College medal of distinction, 2005

v • d • e Marian Engel Award Winners Alice Munro (1986) · Audrey Thomas (1987) · Edna Alford (1988) · Merna Summers (1989) · Carol Shields (1990) · Joan Clark (1991) · Joan Barfoot (1992) · Sandra Birdsell (1993) · Jane Urquhart (1994) · Bonnie Burnard (1995) · Barbara Gowdy (1996) · Katherine Govier (1997) · Sharon Butala (1998) · Janice Kulyk Keefer (1999) · Anita Rau Badami (2000) · Elizabeth Hay (2001) · Terry Griggs (2002) · Elisabeth Harvor (2003) · Dianne Warren (2004) · Gayla Reid (2005) · Caroline Adderson (2006) · Diane Schoemperlen (2007)