Kris Jackson

TOUCHING GRASS has been shortlisted for the 2026 IODE Violet Downey Book Award! The IODE Violet Downey Book Award has celebrated the very best in English-Language children's literature by Canadian authors for readers age 13 and under for over 40 years. The winner will be announced at the @iode.canada 's 126th National Annual Business meeting on Friday, May 29. The shortlist: A Promise to Protect by @nikkibergstresser (Wandering Fox) Benny on the Case by @wesleykingauthor1 (Beach Lane Books) Robot Island by caryfaganwriter (Tundra Books) The Discovery of Finnegan Wilde by @carolinepignat_books (Thistledown Press) Touching Grass by me and fabulous illustrator @raysdrawlings published by @harpercollinsca Congratulations to all the nominees!

Virtual author visits to some very remote locations are made possible thanks to #ConnectedNorth, @kidsbookcentre and the wonderful people at @takingitglobal . I’m happy to present and give kids in remote schools an opportunity to connect with authors.

I’m deeply honoured to have received two recognitions at the 33rd Saskatchewan Book Awards ceremony last night, one for each of my books. MORTIFIED received the Children’s Literature Award and TOUCHING GRASS was selected as the 2026 Book of the Year. I’ve always found the Saskatchewan writing community to be welcoming, supportive, and extremely talented. To be included amongst all this year’s incredible nominees is something I do not take lightly. I want to acknowledge the @saskbookawards board, staff, and jury. Thank you for all the work you put into reading and selecting nominees and winners, and for an incredible evening celebrating Saskatchewan’s authors and publishers (one that I’ll never forget!). I also want to recognize the award sponsors, because without you, there would be no awards. Thank you to the G. Murray and Edna Forbes Foundation, South Saskatchewan Community Foundation for sponsoring the Children’s Literature Award, and the @regina_public_library for sponsoring the Saskatchewan book of the Year award. There is a team behind every book, and I have so many people to thank. Instagram won’t let me write a long enough post to do this justice, but I want to acknowledge my friends and family, illustrator @raysdrawlings , my agent Olga Filina with @5otterliterary , editors @seeyashread and Jennifer Lambert, and the team at @harpercollinsca , my writing group, and all my young readers. Thank you so much everyone! Hiy hiy. Maci cho.

Look what I found at the Rosetown Centennial Library! They had a big collection of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys there. Did anyone else read the originals? My grandmother had a collection and I read all the ones she had. Younger me I loved Nancy and her friends Bess and George, solving mysteries. I was so excited to see this classic collection - brought back great memories

Yesterday was a busy day for me during #ccbcbookweek2026. I did an online session with 3 schools and also visited the Rosetown Centennial Library. It was great connecting with readers in this beautiful Saskatchewan town in person and with schools across the country north! Thank you to Brittany for doing an interview, and @kidsbookcentre for organizing the tours this week!

First stop on the the @kidsbookcentre ’s #CCBCBookWeek is the @humrtpl in Humboldt. I presented to students in Grade 7 and 8 and spent a fun day at the library - always a favourite thing to do! They just finished a beautiful new storytime space for little ones. Huge thanks to Emma who organized everything and to Humboldt for having me here today!

Thank you to @ttt.books for inviting me to be part of your program for #CanadianIndependentBookstoreDay. I felt a bit shy next to great Canadian authors Yann Martell and Louise Bernice Halfe Sky Dancer, but I got both their autographs! What a fun day to recognize independent bookstores and the vital role they play in keeping stories in the hands of readers.

Finished a first draft today! I’m still working on a title for this fun RV vacation disaster story for kids age 8-12, but this book was such a joy to write! It’s scheduled to be at a store near you in fall 2027. 🥳📘❤️🚐

Canadian Children’s Book Week starts next week, and I’m so excited to be part of it! Children’s book authors across Canada will be touring schools and libraries as part of the celebration. Just look at this lineup of wonderful Canadian Authors! I’ll be traveling to libraries in Humboldt, Rosetown, and presenting to remote Saskatchewan schools through Connected North. Other authors touring are: Nadia Alam Kern Carter Matteo L Cerelli Marty Chan Stacey Chomiak Megan Clendenan MNike Deas Jillian Dobson Claire Hatcher-Smith Kaitlin Hoytt Kate Jenks Landry Lydia Lukidis Elly MacKay Maria Marianayagam Jannifer McGrath Mirille Messier Colleen Nelson Maneshig Pawis-Steckley Minique Polak Emil Sher Marsha Skrypuch Kim Spencer Ted Staunton Brooklin Stormie Andy Tolson Kayla Williams #CCBCBookWeek #IReadCanadian

Wow - this will be the second year in a row my books will be part of the amazing Manitoba Young Readers Choice Awards! MORTIFIED was just named as an honour book for the 2026 list, and TOUCHING GRASS is now one of the nominees for the 2027 list. Did you know that amazing illustrator for both these books, @raysdrawlings , lives in Manitoba? Huge thank you to the kids, teachers and librarians who participate in this program, and of course, the wonderful selection committee at @myrcaward for including another of my books, and congratulations to the wonderful nominees!

I’m so excited that MORTIFIED illustrated by @raysdrawlings was chosen as a @myrcaward honour book!! Kids across Manitoba read and vote for their favourites, which makes this recognition especially meaningful for me (and Rhael lives in Manitoba, which makes this extra cool!) Congratulations to all the other nominees and to @larryverstraete for taking first place in the Sundogs category with Coop for Keeps. Lots of great Canadian books on this list!

As a band member, it was a tremendous privilege for me to come visit students at Whitefish Lake First Nation #128 in Treaty 6 territory in Alberta. Huge thank you to Pakan Elementary and Junior High School for hosting me today. I presented to students in grade 3-9 about reading, writing and my journey as an author. I was super excited to see they have a strong reading program there too! Thank you again to the students who were such active participants, the teachers, Principal Kim Memnook, Director of Education Wayne Jackson, and Rhonda Jackson for making this happen.