Now That's Embarrassing

Messing up in public

Hiya. It’s been a while. My March newsletter was embarrassing. There were so many errors and typos¹ that people kept messaging for days to let me know. (Keep doing that, lovely people. I’d rather be told.) The problem was that correcting a post doesn’t change the emails that have already gone out, and that’s how most subscribers read Thirty-two Pages.² Embarrassing. But it’s a very small deal in the scheme of things. Right? Right? I have no secretary. I’m trying my best.

Too embarrassed. Don’t look.

I once delivered a speech at the opening of a local art exhibition and repeatedly used the wrong name for one of the artists. I substituted her name with another artist’s over and over again. No one said anything. I was driving home, running through the event in my head, when the penny dropped (along with my stomach). My brain suddenly realised. I pulled over and messaged a few people who were there. Had I really done that? Surely not. They confirmed I had. But no one said anything! Why didn’t someone interrupt me? I contacted the artist and apologised. I was SO sorry. She was angry. I was mortified, and so I hid. It was more than a year before I presented to adults in public again.

It’s unavoidable, isn’t it, looking and feeling like a fool sometimes? It’s the same with social media. Last year, I thought I was being hilarious promoting My Dad Thinks He’s a Scream by posting silly photos of myself taken outside houses dressed for Halloween. My brother messaged to say that the type of fake spider web in the pictures was the kind that traps birds and kills them. Far out. I didn’t know. Who wants to be photographed with something so ghastly? Embarrassing. (The book has none of that, by the way.)

As long as we’re turning up online, we’re going to mess up occasionally. It’s just how it is. Same as writing a newsletter or speaking in public. There’s a good chance we’ll be embarrassed later.

Oh well. I’m still here. Showing up. Hi.

And I have lots of lovely news.

Look at this. I thought I’d share it with my Substack readers first.

Walker Books, July 2026

It’s a brand-new cover for a book first published in 2010. Yes, this baby has been in print for 16 years, and plodding along so nicely that the publishers have decided to create a My Dad Thinks He’s Funny Deluxe Edition³. Ooh. Deluxe edition. I haven’t seen it yet, but I do like saying deluxe edition. Deluxe edition. The cover for the deluxe edition (masterfully created by super-illustrator Tom Jellett) will be in hardback with a foil title and a bonus Father’s Day card inside, also created by Super Tom. What a lovely looking deluxe edition. (Okay, I’ll stop now. I might be embarrassed later about how many times I’ve said deluxe edition. Just one more time. Deluxe edition.)

The old, everyday edition.

I never can tell which of my books will fly. My Dad Thinks He’s Funny, my fifth book, was released in the same year as my fourth, LittleDog. How I loved LittleDog. A story about my own darling twins and a sweet dog they found at the beach. One reviewer said it was ‘told in pitch-perfect prose’. That remains my favourite review phrase ever. The endpapers by illustrator Tamsin Anislie were divine, and the illustrations were simply gorgeous.

I still love you, Littledog

Littledog lived an ordinary picture book life. It did fine. It sold okay for a few years and was never printed again. That is the normal way of a contemporary Australian picture book. But if you’d asked me in 2010, which book might sell over one hundred thousand more copies than the other, I couldn’t have imagined. (And that’s without the international editions.) Anyway, whatever the magic formula, I am very grateful. (And excited about the deluxe edition.)

Other good news, Girls Like is officially out in the world, and extensive teachers’ notes are available on my website. They’re aligned to both the Australian Curriculum and the EYLF, with lots of playful learning ideas for little ones, as well as ideas for digraphs, CVC words and writing exercises. There are also some lovely colouring sheets by the fabulous illustrator, Deb Hudson. Take a look.

Here she is.

We’re launching Girls Like in Melbourne this Thursday evening at Readings Kids and would love you to join us. The publisher, Anna Solding, may even talk about how she chooses stories for publication, or why she chose this one anyway. Deb Hudson will explain her illustration process. I’ll say a few things, and our delightful MC is children’s author Emma Bowd. There will be cupcakes! Details here.

On Saturday, I’ll be back in Adelaide presenting a nature-themed story time at the City of Burnside Enviro Expo.

The whole day sounds great; looking forward to the recycled fashion market. Unfortunately for me, the wonderful Costa Georgiadis is presenting a children’s session right before mine, so I imagine everyone will be busy Costa-fanning when I start. I’m not joking. I once presented in the children’s tent at Adelaide Writers’ Week straight after Andy Griffiths. The whole audience literally stood up to join his signing queue the moment I took to the stage. (Embarrassing) So, a tip for anyone coming on Saturday, if you get your photo with Costa earlier in the day (he’s presenting numerous sessions), you can come and see me and my frogs⁴ at 1:30. I’d love an audience, far less embarrassing when people turn up. Here are the details.

Thanks for being here. I’ll see you in May.

Anything you’d like to read about then?

Love Katrina xx

1. More than usual, that is.

2. Personally, I use the app, less noise in my inbox.

3. The publishers called it that. Not me.

4. They’re frog puppets. I have five. My job is an excuse to buy toys.