Q&A with picture book author, Kerri Day!

Kerri Day with her latest release, CBCA Notable picture book 'Run Pups Run'

Kerri Day with her first book, Beside the Sea

Kerri Day is a Sunshine Coast, Queensland based writer. Her debut picture book Beside the Sea, illustrated by Jess Racklyeft and published by Windy Hollow Books (2022) was named as a CBCA Notable 2023 - Book of the Year Early Childhood. Her second Picture Book with Windy Hollow, Run Pups Run, published in October 2023 was also a CBCA Notable Book. 

Twice winner of CYA Conference Category 2 Picture Book competition (2015, 2021), Kerri was runner up in the Writers Unleashed N.S.W Picture Book competition 2021, Shortlisted Scribbles Creative Writing Awards 2020 and longlisted for the First 5 Forever Stories, Songs and Rhymes Project curated by the Qld State Library 2020.

At the heart of her stories are themes of individuality, persistence and the simple joy of being a child at play. She aspires for her stories to be shared at home and in the classroom, sparking curiosity, freeing readers and listeners to explore words, sound and creative thinking. Kerri wants children to find joy and wonder in her books and to have illustrators enjoy playing with her stories.
When not writing she loves family time, reading, bushwalking and being in her garden which has a great view of the Glass House Mountains.


1. Welcome, Kerri! Your latest picture book Run Pups Run, illustrated by Nicky Johnston and published by Windy Hollow has been a smash hit, is reprinting, and was even a CBCA Notable! Can you please share how this story originated and what was your process of writing it from manuscript to published book?
Thank you, Brenton, for your kind words and for asking me to participate in your Q&A. Run Pups Run was one of those stories that popped into my head. It started with the phrase – run pups run, wild beach fun – and once I had that rhythm in my head the structure of the text was set. I often think a day out with kids at the beach is like letting the dogs out of the yard, so I suppose that was in the back of my mind too. In one afternoon, I wrote the text and then went back and read it out loud over and over again to get the rhythm and rhyme the best it could be.

I also wanted the text to mimic the pace of the day and to follow a very simple narrative arc from sun up to sun down. The first writing of Run Pups Run was in one of my many manuscript notebooks, then I made a Picture Book dummy to make sure the page turns and spreads felt right before I typed it up. I submitted the manuscript to CYA competition and it won back in 2021, that led to an editor assessment and ultimately a two-book contract with Windy Hollow Books. 

Working with a publisher that focuses on making beautiful Picture Books was so great for my first two books.

2. The text of Run Pups Run is lyrical and sunny-warm and though spare, it is incredibly evocative. Was it submitted to the publisher with illustration notes on how you saw the story, visually? Or was the text originally longer and later trimmed down once an illustrator was found?
The text was always very minimal to mimic the way children and dogs would go about their day on the run at the beach and also to suit the early and pre reading stage. I provided minimal illustration notes, only really about the kite being stuck in the tree and also saying that the “pups” were actually dogs and children. I did not storyboard it for the publisher but I did write the manuscript in spreads to show page turns.

The only change the publisher made was to take out one spread, which did not change the story at all. I adored the illustrations Nicky Johnston created right from the start and I knew they would connect with people in a warm and nostalgic way. I saw the initial rough drawings of the storyboard and then nothing more until Nicky had completed the final colour illustrations.

I love that picture books are such a creative collaboration between words and the visual arts. I want illustrators to have fun playing with my words.

3. You have published two really gorgeous picture books about animals, creatures, family relationships, with dashings of heart and love and soul. Your work is so evocative and both your texts pair really well with your illustrators.
What is your writing process, and rewriting process, like when creating your terrific stories?
I keep notebooks for each Picture Book MS and I handwrite the first drafts and most of the edits too. I also keep a notebook to jot down interesting things I see or hear, funny signs or names of characters that pop into my head. I love to play with words and hope my books will have children feeling the emotion, energy and musicality of language, as this really helps with learning to read. I keep in mind why I want to write and that is - I want children to remember reading a book with their family as loving, fun and nurturing. Sometimes I refer to my books as – cuddle, snuggle, snooze – books, that they really are bedtime stories.

From time to time, I walk and talk my books around my garden to really get the feel and fit of the words. I can visualise my characters going through the action of my story, so that helps with finding the right descriptive word or phrase. I make up dummy books so I can get the page turns right.

Run Pups Run had minimal re-writes. But after editor feedback, Beside the Sea was rewritten to take out dialogue, change the point of view and reduce the word count. I didn’t mind re-writing it as it did not change the arc of the story or the message.
Authors should not be afraid of re-writes, it is all good skill building and it made me a better picture book writer.

3. Is there one thing, or a few things, you know now about the writing world that you wished you knew when you began?
I wish I had known how many supportive people were out there in the writing world, so willing to share their knowledge, to encourage and to let me see there is no one way or one reason to be a writer. I wouldn’t have waited so long to dive into that world and try my luck if I had realised this. On a more practical level, knowing about MS word lengths and formatting would have been handy, but CYA Conference set me up well for all that once I got started attending.

​Also knowing the path to publication is a marathon not a sprint is something to keep in mind. If you love to write or illustrate keep being creative and keep looking for the best home for your work.

And I do love this quote, which I have on the wall of my study:
“Talent is way down on the list of things you need to write; it comes in a distant fourth, after motivation, discipline, and persistence. And the reason, is that “talent” is as common as mud; what’s rare is the motivation to sit down and actually do something with it, the discipline to do it regularly, and the persistence to stick with it until it’s finished.”
​                                                                                                                                                       ---- Patricia C Wrede (American Writer)

4. For you, as a writer and even as a reader, what constitutes a great picture book?
Warm and generous illustrations, which add to the story, reflecting inciteful interpretation of the text.
Familiarity with the characters or the situation, an emotional connection, a flowing rhythm and lyrical language.
And finally, a picture book for me should have joy, love and kindness.

5. Can you share anything in the pipeline? What is next for you?
I continue to write and submit Picture Book manuscripts and enter competitions. The feedback from competitions is always valuable. I have something on the horizon in the coming months, a MS which means a lot to me, but at the moment I can’t officially say anything. I would like to try my hand at Middle Grade Fiction down the track but for now my heart is with Picture Books. I have loads of Picture Book manuscripts on my computer, some more well formed than others of course and some from the early days, where I shake my head at how naive they were.

6. And a two-part question to end with, to reflect on exciting moments: a) How did you find out you were first going to be a published picture book writer? and b) How did making the CBCA Notable List (twice!) make you feel?
Finding out I had been offered a contract for two of my manuscripts came via email one afternoon while I was staying with my daughter. It was lovely to share that jump up and down moment with her and to then share it with my husband when I got home, as he had been such a wonderful support.

I’ve been so pleased with how both my books have been received out in the world. To have them named as Notables was more than I ever dreamed. Full credit to my two illustrators, Jess Rackyleft and Nicky Johnston for building such beautiful worlds around my words and for Cristina Pase from Windy Hollow for matching my MS with these great artists and taking a chance on a completely unknown author.

For Beside the Sea, the Notable email came at night, and because I didn’t know my publisher had entered the book, it was a totally and completely surreal moment. I didn’t tell anyone until the next day I don’t think. For Run Pups Run, I knew it had been entered but tried not to think about it too much and again I was happily surprised and pleased. I rang my children and my big sister straight away to share the joy and I might have cried a bit.

To be recognised by the CBCA alongside Australian authors I respect and admire was strange and amazing all at once.
It gave my writing validation and gave me confidence to keep doing this writing thing I love.