MASSIVE SECRETS! OXBRIDGE! COMEDY!
In which I hint at huge secrets without revealing enough to make my publisher cross
Hold onto your hats, this is going to be a packed newsletter. I have been busy and am about to be even busier…
WORLD BOOK DAY COSTUME HACK
First off, World Book Day is Coming. Need an easy, cheap costume idea? Loki is here for you!
The t-shirt doesn’t have to be red. I draw Loki in black and white so, bring your own colour palette to the party!
TEACHERS! A NATIONAL YEAR OF READING CONFERENCE FOR YOU! GO ALL IN WITH LOKI!
I’ll be speaking at the NLT Primary Conference, on the topic of multimodal reading. Will it just be me yelling COMICS! AUDIOBOOKS! FANFIC! Maybe. But it will be a good time. I have a lot of very passionate opinions about making reading more enticing, and I cannot WAIT to discuss them.
As a reader, I mostly read audiobooks unless it’s a comic, a proof or an illustrated novel, and I want children to have access to stories and information in whatever way suits their minds and hearts. I’ve roped comics creator Mark Bradley in too, and if I wasn’t speaking on this panel, I’d want to be the audience as I am VERY excited about the discussion that will unfold.
BOOK TICKETS HERE
OXBRIDGE FESTIVALS
I didn’t plan this on purpose but my first two festivals this year are Oxford and Cambridge. Actually, Cambridge and Oxford, but no one ever says it that way round for some reason.
CAMBRIDGE
This event will be a little bit special as I’m bringing a Loki-themed gadget for people to play with.
Date: Sat 25 Apr 2026 | 10:00am - 11:00am
Venue: TTP Stage (Cambridge Union)
BOOK TICKETS HERE!
OXFORD
This event will be special to me personally as it’s in the place where I had my degree ceremony and spoke Latin. OK a couple of words of Latin but still. I basically felt like the Pope.
Date: Sunday, 22 March 2026 10:00am
Venue: Sheldonian Theatre
BOOK TICKETS HERE!
WHY IS MY HAIR SO BIG? IT’S FULL OF SECRETS
I am sitting on a few secrets.
Quite a few, actually.
First up, I’m working on a TOP SECRET book that no one has read yet, except my wife and a couple of author friends who’ve read snatches of it. But I am VERY EXCITED about it. It will make Loki look like a very sensible, old-fashioned book that’s not at all subversive. Loki will be so jealous of the chaos.
Secret the second…I can’t tell you when you can read them yet but there are some TOP SECRET LOKI SHORT STORIES in the works. One of them is from Thor’s point of view and I had so much fun writing - and drawing - in Thor’s style. Though with many interruptions from Loki making fun of Thor, of course.
Secret the third… Loki has an announcement to make about the national year of reading. He’s biding his time… but watch the skies. Or instagram and other social media, as I’m not sure he has the budget for skywriting.
COMEDY FOR KIDS
I spent some time thinking about funny books for children this month - specifically, what TYPES of humour do they use? And I drew this diagram to explore it. Teachers! I think this would be a fun exercise to do in class - you could lay out the axes on the board, or on a table and place physical books where children think they should go. I’ve popped a blank one below. I already disagree with myself re where some of the books go… so you could have a fun discussion.
Or if you want a bit of cross-curricular reading focus, you could do it as a coding project, to build an interactive one.
MOVING HOUSE
You don’t need to do anything about this but I’m migrating this newsletter from substack to Ghost over the next month. If you want to know why, read this (Warning: it’s grim). If you have any questions, dm me on instagram.
Now I’m off to crack on with edits on book six. Big things will be revealed! So perhaps that’s another secret I’m sitting on?
Louie xx
