The Book Deal

Natasha Rai hosts a follow-up conversation with Debut Crew 2026 authors Sophie Stern (What Is Left For Us), Inessa Jackson (Devil Mountain), and Leearna Shaw (A Farm in Golden Clouds) about their post-release experiences after discussing pre-release feelings in part one. They revisit elevator pitches, describe release-day anxiety, anticlimactic feelings, and the importance of launch events, then reflect on author talks, reader interactions, surprising questions, and the surreal experience of ...

Madeleine chats with Pip Williams ahead of the release of her third novel, The German Ward. Pip set out with a mission to write a mature love story, but the novel expanded into something more, exploring themes of memory, art and humanity during wartime. In this episode, Pip tells us about how in the writing of her third novel she wanted to challenge herself as a writer. She discusses her approach to structure, craft, social media (and why she stays off it) and how she has developed a positive...

Recorded live at day one of the National Writers’ Conference at the Emerging Writers Festival 2026, this special Book Deal Podcast “agony aunt” session features bestselling author Toni Jordan answering anonymous questions from emerging and early-career writers. Jordan reframes rejection as a business decision, advises writers to focus on becoming “undeniable,” keep producing new work, and avoid perfectionism. She suggests denying real-life inspirations in fiction, warns that publishers can “l...

Tina Strachan interviews New Zealand author Shara Curlett during the launch of her new middle-grade fantasy series Protector of Beyond. Curlett describes book one’s premise—12-year-old Aldetris sparks, is transported to another realm, bonds with a magical creature, and faces trials to train at the Academy of Protectors—plus the creation of the four Gards and Fiercers with illustrator Jennifer Beam, and comps like Nevermoor, Percy Jackson, and Wings of Fire. She recounts a busy release month i...

This week, Madeleine chats with Irish author, Andrea Mara, about TV adaptations, getting permission to write, writing bestselling crime fiction, and her latest novel, Such a Nice Girl (Penguin Books Australia, 2026). Andrea Mara is a number one Sunday Times, Irish Times and Kindle bestselling author, whose books have sold more than one million copies across all formats. The TV adaptation of her 2021 book, All Her Fault, aired in November 2025 to huge critical and audience acclaim, with ...