In extremely unhip news, I have been digital minimalist-pilled and am quitting social media for a month tomorrow, the longest I've gone without it in sixteen years. Sorta banking on myself developing Matilda-esque powers with all of the extra brain space I'll have. Or I'll just be really bored.

4yo cried out for me because he had some VERY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS to ask: - If fish drink oxygen in water, can humans drink oxygen in water too? - If a snake bites another snake, will it get poisoned? - Did triceratops peck like a chicken because they had beaks? I fear I gave insufficient answers.

Anyone in Australia know a kid who would love a Rumi jacket for Christmas and whose parents are doing it tough? I'm getting one for my kid, may as well get two!

with Bluey taking off in America there will be a whole future generation hungry for more a Brisbane-centric pop culture. They will listen to Regurgitator. They will read Praise by Andrew McGahan.

Had a wild moment today in which my four-year-old was like I HATE SUMMER. I asked him why, thinking he would say, ya know, the heat, but instead he was like, 'I hate that it just rains all the time!'. I realised, nearly every summer of his life so far has been a La Niña due to climate change.

The baby is starting to get a sense of personhood. I was running through the names of all the family members and ended it with, 'And what's your name?'. He pointed to himself and said 'BubbaDadda.' Power move ngl

The internet is healing (aka I have set up a private account on here to air my WOES, LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT IT.)

Tonight, for the first time in months, I don't have to do any work. I...don't know what to do with myself.

I'm so sorry to hear this. It's against commonsense, medical knowledge, the wishes of children, parents and specialised doctors who deal carefully with complex situations. It's just discrimination by Qld conservatives of very little brain who'd rather ban something than try to understand it.

Literally evil villain type shit.

Absolutely losing it that the special police unit investigating the Louvre heist is called the Paris Brigade for the Repression of Banditry 😭

Every podcast now is just 'Are Tech Bros and their obsession with AI destroying the world? First, we'll hear from today's sponsors, an AI security tech startup!'

get his arse menswear guy

American saying the name Tara: "Terror"

GIVE 👏 HER 👏 THE 👏 PULITZER www.theguardian.com/music/2025/o...

I bought five guppies for my 200L backyard pond on Sunday and now I ONLY HAVE TWO LEFT???? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER THREE? The pond has heaps of plants covering the surface so I don't think they could have been plucked off by birds. Call Poirot, a MURDER has happened.

I just learned that the Japanese word for 'accessible' (to disabled people) is バリアフリー (baria furi) "barrier-free" 🥹

Yep, it's standard for many publishers now to include more politely-worded 'fuck off AI' notes on the imprint page along with copyright warnings. I altered my most recent one in a reprinted book to add illustrations to words. (We automatically own copyright but amoral criminal AI just steals it.)

Yes!! This is what I've always wondered!! It seems such an obvious move, like when you buy a sewing pattern and it clearly says for personal use only, not to be used for commercial products I'd love to hear from someone with a legal background about whether it's a viable strategy for publishing

I was squinting at the back of a Halloween-themed Eric Carle book to try to figure out if the art in those 'World of Eric Carle' books is actually by him or not, but then I saw something in the imprint text that was infinitely more interesting.

Me but changing my name professionally and legally so I stopped being confused with the renown international children's book writer/illustrator with the same name as my birth name.

My 4yo is OBSESSED with K-pop Demon Hunters (yet has not even seen the movie??) and today, while he was wearing his purple Rumi plait in his hair, a lady approached us at the cafe to say she was Korean and how proud she is to see everyone celebrating a Korean movie and 🥹😭❤️

I'm illustrating a boardbook on Rihanna and thus have been looking at a million pics of her, and...like...I think this might be the most beautiful a human has ever looked??? How is she real????????

I'm losing my mind that there was an actual goddamn HEIST at the Louvre last night. Like, some rodenty Parisian guys were legit huddled up somewhere, chainsmoking and plotting a HEIST. They probably got the gang back together for one last job. I bet Lupin was there. Question Netflix.

US publishers: someone buy my middle grade novel about music and deafness so I can justify a book tour to the US 😭

Completely lost my voice two days before I have to do hours of talking at the Brisbane Writers Festival 🫡 Give me your witchiest hone remedies, I'm desperate!

New Ken Follett book is out, so u know what that means:

My four-year-old listened with rapt attention as I read half of The Moomins and the Great Flood to him tonight and was devastated when I had to stop so he could go to bed. This is it. My peak parenting moment. It's all downhill from here.

Dude at the Korean BBQ gave my baby a cellophane pinwheel as we walked past so unfortunately he's now earned my eternal devotion. Gonna eat there SO HARD now. I'm vegetarian so that will probably just look like a lot of kimchi to go.

My four-year-old, after sitting in studied silence in the backseat for several minutes: 'Why does Bluey never die?'.

Talking to kids about disability and writing tomorrow! I've got a list of disabled Aussie kids/YA writers, but I bet I forgot someone. @ ME YOUR FAVES FOR MY LIST PLEASE 🥰🥰🥰

Saw Thunderhead at my local library!!!!! Screamed and showed it to my kid, who was not interested in the slightest. Ego is now comfortably in check 🫡

Who has two thumbs and got so sick in Bali that it was touch and go to see whether they'd be let on the plane back to Australia for being a biohazard? 👉🥳👈

Me, a week ago: Australia somewhat likes kids :) Me now, having seen how lovely, inclusive and accommodating Balinese people are of kids: Oh, Australia straight up hates kids.

In exquisite timing, I have an appointment tomorrow to see a gyno-oncologist about when I have to have a hysterectomy to mitigate cancer risk and I'm in full PMDD werewolf mode, just sobbing while reading this poem: www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazi...

29 degrees in Brisbane today and it's meant to be winter in four days. Normal. Fine. Regular.

Poor State Library of Qld: I hear it continued to stand strong for their prize and its worthy winner, @wyld.bsky.social until they got a legally-binding, mandatory directive from the Arts Minister to rescind it. Terrible position to be in. Over to publishers: this book needs to be picked up now.

Having a four-year-old kid is like living with a tiny, LEGO-obsessed philosopher. This morning he was like, 'Mama, I don't ever want to die', then went back to his colouring in and rice bubbles.

Truly preposterous.

Anyone else just compulsively lie to strangers they'll never see again? I just told an old lady at the shops that my name was Louise and I worked in retail. What's wrong with me

In Sydney for a workshop with the Sydney Opera House's digital learning program! It's a resource that teachers can stream in their classrooms! I chatted about Thunderhead and creativity with Sally Coleman, it was a blast!

Looking through my Thunderhead roughs for a workshop I'm doing, found this illustration that got cut, and honked with laughter like a goose getting tickled.

Whatttttt is going on in Toowoomba. I lived there for three years and still do not understand the place.

I'VE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY TO BE WRONG 🎊🎊🎊🎊

I'm at my sister's hen's night and she's good friends with professional musicians. We're doing karaoke. I have just witnessed the most beautiful rendition of Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. I'm moved to tears.

Show your dad your appreciation with this charming gift book, featuring adorable artwork from @sophiebeerdraws.bsky.social. Heartwarming rhyming text celebrates the wonderful things dads do and is perfect for sharing with your amazing dad! I Love You, Dad is out now! 💕

Old ladies next to me at the cafe discussing how their friend's son used ChatGPT to write her eulogy because he was too sad. Mate. You don't outsource your mum's eulogy to a robot because you're too sad, you translate that sadness into the best dang eulogy of all time!! THAT IS BEING HUMAN!!

Anyone have any recommendations for picture books about how kids can deal with repetitive anxious thoughts? We've been using 'The Problem with Problems' (just subbing in 'scary thoughts' instead of 'problems') but I just found out the author is a TERF 💀

I'm at my parents' house, deep in Dutton's electorate of Dickson, and it's legit revolting how many signs of his smirking potato face I am subjected to here. Anecdotally: there's no way he's losing the seat, as much as I'd like him to.