Are too many books being published and is community the key to increased readers? Plus the joy of book boxes! Catch up with Tina and Natasha.

Are too many books being published and is community the key to increased readers? Plus the joy of book boxes! Catch up with Tina and Natasha.

Hosts Tina Strachan and Natasha Rai catch up. Natasha shares being highly commended for a Varuna fellowship (amid 812 entries), explains Varuna as the National Writers’ House in Katoomba, and discusses upcoming copy edits for The Bride Price, preparation for Melbourne’s QLit Festival, and a four-hour “complicated characters” workshop at Hunter Writers Centre on 25 July. Tina describes a quieter month with school-holiday outings, catching up on admin, and reflecting on daily writing habits via Stephen King’s 2,000-words-a-day routine. They discuss promotional book boxes, including a Penguin Random House box for Shara Curlett’s middle-grade fantasy Protector of Beyond (out in September), and what authors might include in their own. They also unpack a Guardian article arguing Australia is publishing too quickly, talk shelf-life realities, the role of community and independent booksellers, and offer practical promotion ideas. They highlight NSW “Stories Matter” fellowships ($50,000; closes 27 July) and The Wheeler Centre’s The Next Chapter (stipend and mentorship; closes 31 July), and end by encouraging writers to keep writing for joy. 00:00 Podcast intro and hosts 00:56 Catch-up and Varuna news 02:07 What is Varuna 04:42 Edits festivals and workshop prep 06:25 Tina holiday reset 08:08 Stephen King writing habit 12:18 Back to routine and topics 12:40 Promotional book boxes 16:34 DIY book box ideas 18:10 Guardian debate too many books 19:13 Too Many Books Debate 20:39 Readers Bookstores Squeeze 21:07 Rose Red Bookshop Hope 22:12 Community Over Commodity 26:24 Shelf Life Three Months 28:35 Bookseller Reality Check 29:24 Tips Readers And Writers 31:38 Keep Books Selling Longer 36:07 Remember Why You Write 37:47 Fellowships And Grants 39:51 Final Writing Pep Talk 41:11 Podcast Farewell Outro Join our Patreon community [https://www.patreon.com/thebookdealpodcast/] for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love. Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/the_book_deal_podcast/] You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/td_strachan/] Tina Strachan children's book author [https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-tina-strachan-childrens-book-author] Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/madeleineclearywrites/] Madeleine Cleary | Author [https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/] Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/raiwriting/] Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor [https://www.raiwriting.com.au/] If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first. Madeleine: Subscribe here [https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/?r=5df0no&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist]...

Jessie Tu on writing real characters, obsession with older women and being seen as an author

Join our Patreon community [https://www.patreon.com/thebookdealpodcast/] for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love. Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/the_book_deal_podcast/] You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/td_strachan/] Tina Strachan children's book author [https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-tina-strachan-childrens-book-author] Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/madeleineclearywrites/] Madeleine Cleary | Author [https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/] Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/raiwriting/] Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor [https://www.raiwriting.com.au/] If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first. Madeleine: Subscribe here [https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/?r=5df0no&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist]...

Kayte Nunn on writing bestselling fiction across genres and publishers

Kayte Nunn is the bestselling author of nine novels, including The Botanist’s Daughter, The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant, The Silk House and The Last Reunion. Kayte grew up in England and the US, before moving to Australia. She has had a diverse career working in publishing, editing, and magazines, including as the former editor of Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine. Madeleine chats with Kayte about writing the book that calls to you, how to be disciplined and resilient, switching lanes and genres (even when you are a bestseller and have a 'brand', and lots of tips for good routines and writing. And of course we discuss Kayte's latest twisty new novel, The Yacht,  a page-turning crime thriller set on a superyacht in Mallorca. * THE YACHT A man on the edge. A woman hell-bent on revenge. A cheating husband. A desperate wife. A property empire on the brink of collapse. A family at loggerheads. A predator hiding in plain sight. Who will sink and who will swim? Three generations of a billionaire family are taking their new superyacht on its maiden voyage. But when the yacht sinks, each of them has a different part to play, in this addictive, twist-filled thriller. Check out The Yacht here [https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9781460718209]. * Kayte recommends reading The Emotional Craft of Fiction: How to Write the Story Beneath the Surface by Donald Maass.  Our Debut in the Spotlight this week is The Picasso Ransom by A.T Prewett. [https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781761776731/] Thank you to HarperCollins Australia for sponsoring this episode. Join our Patreon community [https://www.patreon.com/thebookdealpodcast/] for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love. Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/the_book_deal_podcast/] You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/td_strachan/] Tina Strachan children's book author [https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-tina-strachan-childrens-book-author] Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/madeleineclearywrites/] Madeleine Cleary | Author [https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/] Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/raiwriting/] Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor [https://www.raiwriting.com.au/] If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first. Madeleine: Subscribe here [https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/?r=5df0no&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist]...

Sarah Clutton shares how travelling the world and 'trusting the process' helped her create The Bookshop of Buried Pasts

Tina Strachan interviews author Sarah Clutton about her new novel ‘The Bookshop of Buried Pasts’. Clutton outlines the story of antiquarian book dealer Phyllida Banks, who disappears and leaves her granddaughter Lottie to run their Southern Highlands bookshop and find a man named Francis, leading to a Cambridgeshire mystery tied to an unsolved 50-year-old crime, family secrets, spirituality, and threads of witches and Celtic mythology across 1960s–70s timelines. She discusses the setting’s inspiration from Berrima and Australia’s first “book town” region, the showstopping cover design, and the title’s evolution. Clutton shares research experiences, including a death doula course and travel to English manor houses, Devon’s Clovelly, Scotland, and Shetland, and offers advice to aspiring authors: take craft courses and become open to critique.   00:00 Podcast Intro 00:56 Meet Sarah Clutton 01:39 New Book Overview 03:38 Southern Highlands Setting 06:10 Book Town Inspiration 06:49 Cover Art Breakdown 10:47 Title Origins 14:10 Death Doula Research 21:06 Phyllida Character Themes 22:54 Stalking Idea Process 24:33 Trusting the Draft 26:05 Travel As Research 27:03 Themes Of Agency 28:41 Hunting Manor Houses 29:44 Clovelly Village Magic 33:33 Scotland Estate Access 35:08 Mythology DNA Witchcraft 38:32 Daily Writing Reality 39:43 Drafting Through Discomfort 44:30 Tips For Aspiring Authors 46:27 Late Start Publishing Journey 51:17 Wrap Up And Farewell  Join our Patreon community [https://www.patreon.com/thebookdealpodcast/] for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love. Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/the_book_deal_podcast/] You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/td_strachan/] Tina Strachan children's book author [https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-tina-strachan-childrens-book-author] Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/madeleineclearywrites/] Madeleine Cleary | Author [https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/] Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/raiwriting/] Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor [https://www.raiwriting.com.au/] If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first. Madeleine: Subscribe here [https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/?r=5df0no&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist]...

The Writing Deal: It's EOFY! Natasha, Tina & Madeleine discuss the business of being an author

Tina, Madeleine and Natasha catch up and discuss: * Natasha's successful workshop on creativity and the nervous system, and how to get the most from creative flow.  * Natasha's title of her second book (!) * All things small business: accounting, expenses, BAS, GST, mileage, super, income averaging, receipts. We go into the nitty gritty of running your own author business. Please do your research and always seek professional financial advice. Our listeners recommended the below specialist accountants for writers: * Real Thiel * Kylie Thompson at Sorrento Strategic * Matthew Tucker from Creative Crunchers This week's Debut in the Spotlight is Disgraceful (Simon & Schuster, 2026) [https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/Disgraceful/Rachel-Fox-McLeod/9781761634147]by Rachel Fox McLeod. 00:56 We catch up 01:39 Natasha's workshop chat 11:08 Tina is tinkering 18:19 Natasha reveals her second book title! 27:17 Debut in the Spotlight 28:24 The business behind the books 31:26 Accounting 35:26 Recording travel 42:48 GST, BAS And invoicing 46:27 Income Averaging and ABNs Join our Patreon community [https://www.patreon.com/thebookdealpodcast/] for less than the cost of a coffee per month and support the pod! Your contribution will go to directly paying our sound producer, Brogan, and to help us bring you the conversations with industry professionals you love. Follow The Book Deal podcast on Instagram The Book Deal podcast (@the_book_deal_podcast) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/the_book_deal_podcast/] You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here: Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/td_strachan/] Tina Strachan children's book author [https://www.tinastrachan.com/about-tina-strachan-childrens-book-author] Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/madeleineclearywrites/] Madeleine Cleary | Author [https://www.madeleinecleary.com.au/] Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos [https://www.instagram.com/raiwriting/] Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor [https://www.raiwriting.com.au/] If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first. Madeleine: Subscribe here [https://madeleinecleary.substack.com/?r=5df0no&utm_campaign=pub-share-checklist]...