Jess Keating

@jesskeatingbooks

🇨🇦 Writer, zoologist, artist. Author of 20+ books. SHARK LADY, BUNBUN & BONBON, OCEAN SPEAKS. Unruly spokesperson for literacy, science, creativity, wildness & wonder. Rep: Kathleen Rushall, Andrea Brown Lit

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Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· 23d

In happy news, it’s SHARK WEEK time, which means my awkward party facts are briefly relevant. (Sharks are older than trees! And can do math! And love jazz!) Loved to see this Shark Lady pic from slowerdowntoread and @aquariumpacific.bsky.social to celebrate 🦈

A girl in a blue shirt and pants, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of a giant aquarium wall featuring vibrant coloured fish and corals. She is holding a copy of the book Shark Lady by Jess Keating.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· 27d

Butterfly in the SKYYY🌈 Today in 'it's a wonderful world, so let's treat it better': Did you know that painted lady butterflies--who weigh less than 1 gram, mind you--travel a 4200km round trip, from West Africa to South America? Meaning, they cross a WHOLE ASS OCEAN*. Nature. 🤙 *technical term

An orange black, and white painted lady butterfly, sitting on top of a fuchsia flower. Its wings are outstretched, showing off its fuzzy brown body.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jul 13

“You are unique. There is only one you. And that is you there, right here, for better or worse. Except that there is no better, and there is no worse. It’s just you.” — Sam Neill, aka the coolest, chillest uncle we all wish we had in our lives.

Sam Neill wearing his trademark blue shirt and hat, in a still from the movie Jurassic Park.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jun 30

Hey, thanks @pwkidsbookshelf.bsky.social!! It’s time for magical beasties! 😎 Aubrey acquired my very first books more than a decade ago! Can’t wait for you to see the magic we’ve cooked up in this new series.

Headshots of Jess Keating and Maike Plenzke, with a deal announcement:

Aubrey Poole at Literati has acquired world rights to A Tale of Two Tails, first in the Magical Creatures Clubhouse chapter book series by Jess Keating (l.), illustrated by Maike Plenzke, which follows three kids as they stumble upon a magical forest
clubhouse that serves as a portal to wild adventures and even wilder mythical beasts. In this debut installment, the trio must uncover the clubhouse's secrets in order to return a stranded, shapeshifting kitsune to its mother before its magic fades forever. Publication is planned for spring 2027; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jun 28

Getting the band back together. Hold onto your butts. 🤙

The margin of a Microsoft word doc, showing a single comment from an editor named Aubrey Poole, saying HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jun 27

🌈 If you see this, quote with your art to celebrate Pride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ #kidlitart #pridemonth

A happy looking cartoon unicorn prancing over a green hill; it has a rainbow coloured and a beaming smile on its face.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jun 8

It’s World Oceans Day! I’ve got some books for that. 💙 I've always thought the oceans are just like women - deep, vast, powerful, multifaceted, and (most importantly), completely underestimated in most ways. Grab any at your fave bookseller! #WorldOceansDay

Three ocean themed books written by Jess Keating. Shark Lady, featuring a blue cover with a scuba, diving woman and a shark. Ocean Speaks, featuring a woman floating in an ocean scape. The Girl Who Built an Ocean, featuring a woman with a notebook and pen sitting amongst a lush underwater ocean scene. The text beside the books reads three books for world ocean day.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Apr 21

Proof of life! 🏴‍☠️ Always absconding to the ocean, this time hanging out with some grey whales and sea otters. Also working on some new books!

A choppy oceanscape of blue water, with a few distant islands in the background.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Mar 2

Educators, I've added a big drop of new videos on my website for you. You can now find: -a writing series for kids -book trailers & virtual author visits -animal science videos -cartooning tutorials ...and more! www.jesskeating.com/videos #edusky #science #writing

A screenshot of four Youtube video stills, featuring lions, gulls, snakes, and a moose. The titles of each are "Shared Snack", "This bird vomits oil", "venom delivery", and "why no domestic moose?"

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Mar 1

It's a pleasure to see SHARK LADY alongside the beacon of literacy that kept so many kids (like me!) full up on amazing books all through childhood. Reading Rainbow - thanks for sharing! Hit me up if you need an unruly lady to talk books, any day.

A Reading Rainbow Facebook post, celebrating Women’s History month, featuring Shark Lady. Mae Among the Stars, and others, in a carousel post.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jan 23

I’m a menace. #sculpture #books

A sculpture of the very hungry caterpillar, held up by a hand. It is sculpted to be anatomically correct and has bright green body segments and a red head with purple antennae.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jan 17

It’s Appreciate A Dragon Day?! I almost missed it. Boy howdy, have I got a book for you. (Because we should all be counting snot otters as modern day dragons, yes??) Enjoy 👉 “Animal Planet meets Captain Underpants in the ickiest, squickiest, most fart-filled World of Weird Animals book yet.”

A hand holding a copy of Gross as a Snot Otter, featuring a slimy looking hellbender salamander.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jan 16

Yeah there’s a lot going on, but ALSO did you know there’s a bird called the “many-coloured rush tyrant” and it looks like this?? I mean, look at him. #birds #nature

A small bird with a yellow belly, blue face, green, black, and white wings and a red butt.

A small bird with a yellow belly, blue face, green, black, and white wings. It’s staring at the camera with an “unimpressed” look.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jan 15

Working on a fun little sculpture for myself featuring this palette. Who can guess what the subject is?? Hint: think kidlit. 👀 #booksky

An overhead view of a paint palette featuring various shades of green and red paint, with a bottle of purple paint at the side. A row of sculpting tools is at the top.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Jan 13

A few years back, I ran an Epic Authors Academy, aimed at helping authors embrace what they can control about their careers and (hopefully) gracefully accept the stuff they can’t. I just learned that one of my amazing students has her debut MG releasing tomorrow! Buy a copy! YAY GOOD THINGS! 🥹🥹

The cover of A YEAR WITHOUT HOME by V.T Bidania, clearing a beautiful pinkish purple skyscape and a group of children on the cover, exploring in front of a field. A cabin sits at the top.

Inside acknowledgments, circled in blue ink.
A giant thank-you to Jess Keating for teaching me how to be an epic author. Because of you, I learned how to rewrite my own story, make quantum leaps in my writing, and step onto the path that changed the trajectory of my career (and my life). I will always be in awe of your wisdom, intelligence, and kindness.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Dec 28

I photographed wolves, released my 20-somethingth book about a remarkable women in STEM, got back into sculpting (that banana is clay!), collected seascapes across Canada, and said no to a lot of things that weren’t an f yes to me. Weird year. Crazy hard year. But also a growth year.

A viewfinder of a camera featuring a black wolf in the snow.

A copy of BIRDLORE, featuring a woman’s illustrated face surrounded by colourful birds.

A realistic clay banana held in someone’s outstretched palm.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Dec 25

Merry Christmas! Here’s one of my favourite seasonal creatures - the Christmas tree worm! These guys are ciliary feeders, so they use tiny-hair-like bristles on their appendages, to catch food as it passes by. #science #animals

Yellow and blue Christmas tree worms on the ocean floor. One is bright yellow and two are blue, and they both have spindly fir-tree like appearances.

Blue Christmas tree worms on the ocean floor. They both have spindly fir-tree like appearances.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Dec 24

Came across this, by photographer Félix Thiollier and loved it enough to want to share it here. 1899. It’s called ‘Lady with Her Horse on a Snowy Day”.

This striking black-and-white photograph, titled
"Lady with her Horse on a Snowy Day," was taken in 1899 by French photographer and art historian Félix Thiollier. Captured in the style of a snapshot, the image features a woman in a long, dark dress striding away from the camera, carrying a riding crop, while a dark horse is visible in the background, cantering or trotting in the snow.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Dec 22

Happy Solstice! Here’s to the dark, the light, and the inevitable shift in the winds we all need. 💙

A chickadee on an outstretched hand, with woods (and another chickadee) in the snowy background.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Dec 19

📸 Probably my favourite shot from this week. Wild creatures, I just love you so much. #photography #science

A beautiful side view of a gray wolf, standing on snow and looking to the right.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Dec 18

I keep failing to come up with the right words to express how special this week has been for me. Wolves have always had top spot in my heart, and I was fortunate enough to see 11 of them - including this beauty. More pics soon! (Yes, I totally cried.) 💙

A gorgeous huge black wolf, on the screen of a Nikon viewfinder.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Nov 27

I mean, I’m not mad. 🤣

Lestat sitting in a chair looking smug as hell.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Nov 22

Spending lots of time making stuff and shooting stuff* lately - here’s a pretty sky for your timeline *as in, with a camera

Purply white and pink clouds in a blue sky.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Nov 11

If you see this, post your bird art.

A bright painted kingfisher done in oils, with a teal and gold body on a dark green background.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Nov 9

We’re snailposting, post your snails!

The cover of Big as a Giant Snail, by Jess Keating and David DeGrand, featuring a giant snail on an outstretched palm.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Oct 31

Always grateful to live here, but autumn in Ontario just hits different. 🇨🇦

A beautiful autumn scene, with bright red and orange and yellow trees bordering a leaf-littered dirt road.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Oct 30

Ahhhhh — I promised another pic when they won! Here is blue jay number THREE for last night’s amazing game!! They’re bringing it home! ⚾️ #bluejays

A blue jay sitting in an outstretched palm, eating a peanut.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Oct 29

… have I got a book for you!!

A copy of Cute as an Axolotl, featuring a cute axolotl on the cover.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Oct 29

Another celebratory jay for our #bluejays win last night. Don’t worry, I’ve got more than enough jay pics to take us through the win. 😉

A beautiful blue jay sitting on an outstretched palm.

Jess Keating@jesskeatingbooks· Oct 26

Today in 'let’s stop filling the internet with GenAI animal slop and start respecting and protecting the real ones we have' -- I give you: 🐟The cutlass fish. Yes it’s REAL. It looks like it’s forged of shiny steel, and lives in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans! Incredible creature.