Welcome!

I am so happy you’ve found your way to The Analog Family. I like to think of this newsletter as “notes from a (mostly) screen-free family that likes to play, travel, and eat.” It’s full of the diverse experiences and adventures that a busy family of five gets up to, along with my own thoughts and perspectives on the world.

As explained in my introductory post, part of my motivation for starting this platform is to promote my book, which came out July 11, 2023. It’s called Childhood Unplugged: Practical Advice to Get Kids Off Screens and Find Balance (New Society Publishers). But there’s a lot more to it than that! (Photo below: Saugeen Times)

What Readers Can Expect

As a subscriber, you will receive at least one post weekly in your email inbox. At this point, all content is free, though I may choose to activate paid subscriptions in the future.

I will continue to write about the intersection of childhood and digital media, the importance of outdoor play, and the need to raise independent, resilient children. I've discovered that, once you delve deep into a topic, as I have with kids and technology, you keep finding additional tidbits of information that you want to write about long after the manuscript has been finalized. So this is a good platform for that.

But I don’t slot myself solely into the parenting genre. I love food and write extensively about what I’m cooking, how I plan menus, shop for groceries, entertain regularly, preserve seasonal harvests, and more. My family and friends can attest to the fact that I think about food from the moment I wake up till I fall asleep at night, so there’s lots to talk about.

After 10 years at Treehugger, I am perhaps best known as a writer and expert in the sustainability news industry. I’m a vocal proponent of low-impact living, so there will be stories about that. I love to travel and go wherever, whenever I can, so readers can follow along on those adventures. I am also someone who likes to sit at home and contemplate the world, mulling over its countless complexities and offering up my two cents’ worth, not to mention sharing my opinions on the many books I read. I hope you stay with me throughout this journey.

Who Am I?

My name is Katherine Martinko. I am an editor and writer with a decade of experience in digital news publishing. Right now I’m freelancing, working as a news editor for Allrecipes and technical writer for Danone. I’m a former senior editor at Treehugger, an internationally respected environmental news website owned by Dotdash Meredith. Before that, I was a staff writer for the site (and wrote 4,000+ articles), as well as a contract writer for Narrative Content Group and the Discovery Network. Once upon a time, I had a popular parenting blog called Feisty Red Hair.

I graduated from the University of Toronto in 2011, with a degree in English and history. I love to travel and speak three other languages (Italian, Portuguese, French). My hobbies include CrossFit, reading, hosting dinner parties, and playing violin in a local symphony. I’m an award-winning public speaker and a community leader who led a major effort to resettle 19 refugees in my small town. I live with my husband and three children in southwestern Ontario, Canada.

P.S. I Do Freelance Work!

If you want to get in touch, find me on Twitter, LinkedIn, or send me an email: knmartinko[at]gmail[dot]com.

If you’d like to order my book (please do!), it’s now available from New Society Publishers and Amazon and everywhere else that books are sold. E-book and audiobook editions are available, too.

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