Jackie Khalilieh is a Palestinian Canadian writer of YA books — mostly teen romances or coming-of-age stories, but usually both. Her first book, Something More, featured an autistic protagonist, which is cool because Jackie herself was diagnosed as autistic as an adult. The next book, which just came out this summer, is You Started It, which is a lot of fun because so many of the dates happen in and around Toronto. She’s a self-proclaimed failed journalist and former teacher, and didn’t start writing books until her late 30s. She has two daughters and a very cute Samoyed and is very dedicated to positive representation in her writing, especially for her Arab and autistic characters. She is barely ever without her headphones, listening to her curated book playlists, audiobooks at 1.5 speed or podcasts. In her free time, she doomscrolls, talks about doing puzzles and draws and paints with her youngest daughter.
-Written by Jackie’s husband
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Which ’hood are you in?
I live with my family in Markham Village, which is a GO Train ride away from the city core. I never get tired of the view of the CN Tower when I step outside of Union Station. When I was first married, we lived in a 1970s house in Unionville, which we loved, but soon the area became a little too busy for us.
What do you do?
I’m a young adult author, but currently working on my adult fiction debut. I’m also a mother of two girls, 10 and 12 and a dog mom.
What are you currently working on?
Have been surviving the last months! I had three separate deadlines for three different projects. I attended EVER AFTER, a romance festival organized by TIFA, and planned two birthday parties while reminding my family to send me their Christmas wish lists!
Where can we find your work?
My first two YA novels, Something More and You Started It, are available wherever books are sold, or via my website if you’d like a signed copy. I’m also fairly active on both Instagram and TikTok. My third YA novel, Everything Comes Back to You, releases August 4, 2026, as well as a novella sequel to my debut, Something More. There are a couple of unannounced projects that I’m excited to talk about soon!
