Hackmatack News
Reading clubs: 2027-28 registration is open!
Reading clubs in schools, libraries, homeschools, community groups, and individual readers are welcome.
Reading clubs get exclusive access to program materials
- Author and illustrator bios, discussion and activity guides
- Reading logs and reader passports
- Ballots for voting, bookmarks to print and colour, and more!
Visit our registration page to join in!
Publishers: 2027-28 Submissions are open
We’re now accepting Canadian books (100% Canadian: authors, illustrators, publishers) for children in grades 4-6.
Visit our Submissions page for all the details.
Deadline: October 15, 2026.
2026-27 Shortlisted Books
We’re excited to present another excellent list of great Canadian books. Registration will open for our 2026-27 program in September. Congratulations to all the finalists!
Read all about the books on our Shortlist page.
Hackmatack 2025-26 Winners!
Here are the winners of the 2026 Hackmatack Awards
ENGLISH FICTION (a tie)
Songs in the Sea, written and illustrated by Pheilm Martin (Breakwater Books)
AND
Teddy vs. the Fuzzy Doom, written and illustrated by Braden Hallett (Annick Press)
FRENCH FICTION (a tie)
Fou du hockey – le camp d’entraînement by Alain M. Bergeron, illustrated by Caroline Soucy (Auzou Quebec)
AND
L’horrible cabane dans l’arbre by Mika, illustrated by Sabrina Gendron (Boomerang Éditeur Jeunesse)
ENGLISH NONFICTION
She is Hope for Wildlife: The Story of Wildlife Rescuer Hope Swinimer by Wanda Baxter, illustrated by Leah Boudreau (Nimbus Publishing)
FRENCH NONFICTION
Le fan club des microbes written and illustrated by Elise Gravel (Éditions les 400 coups)
We want to say thank you to the following organizations who support our program year-round: New Brunswick Public Library Service, Halifax Public Libraries, Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, Atlantic Provinces Library Association, Prince Edward Island Public Library Service, Nova Scotia Public Libraries, and the Centre for Equitable Library Access.
And many thanks to Halifax Central Library for all their help with the 2026 ceremony!
2026 Ceremony Photo Gallery
Click through to see the photos on our gallery page 📸
Centre for Equitable Library Access
You don’t have to be in a Hackmatack reading group to enjoy the books. And you don’t have to be a conventional reader.
The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) is an accessible library service, providing books and other materials to Canadians of all ages with print disabilities.
We’re happy to tell you that many of the Hackmatack titles are available for free in accessible formats for kids with print disabilities.
You can get these titles from your public library, or through the CELA website.
We’d like to thank CELA for the wonderful work they do. Their collection has more than 700,000 professionally produced titles, with an emphasis on Canadian authors and stories, and favourites for kids and teens.
See all the Hackmatack accessible titles on our CELA page.
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