The Book Deal

Natasha Rai interview's Jasmine McGaughey, a Torres Strait Islander and African American writer and editor, about her debut YA speculative novel Moonlight and Dust (shortlisted for the 2025 VPLAs). She pitches the story of 16-year-old Zillah returning from Brisbane to Cairns after her sister is hospitalised, discovering “moon dust” that gives kids weekend-long magical powers, and investigating its link to her sister’s fate. McGaughey discusses developing the book from a short story into a novella during a creative writing master’s, challenges writing Torres Strait Islander representation in speculative fiction, fears of tokenism, and the value of editorial collaboration. She explains getting agent Alex Adsett through children’s book work, submitting to publishers, and working with Allen & Unwin, including cover design. She also reflects on the exhaustion of launch publicity, balancing freelance work, craft confidence after debut, tax issues like income averaging, trends in YA, and her advice to write what you love. 

00:00 Podcast Introduction
00:56 Meet Jasmine McGaughey
01:39 Moonlight and Dust Pitch
03:36 From Short Story to Novel
04:50 Writing in Academia
07:12 Representation and Tokenism
09:33 Finding Zillah’s Voice
13:09 Magic With Meaning
16:44 Revising After the Master’s
19:11 Getting an Agent
20:34 Submitting to Publishers
24:43 Allen and Unwin Feedback
29:07 Long Road to Publication
29:37 Editing Collaboration
30:36 Editor Turned Author
31:33 Cover Design Magic
32:47 Cover Reactions
36:23 Launch Overwhelm
40:23 Freelance Versus Craft
44:01 Money Tax Survival
46:18 Publishing Trends Talk
52:17 Writing Routine Reset
55:26 Reading Romantasy
56:32 Advice And Farewell
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You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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This Book Deal podcast mega Author Talk special (part two) focuses on how to deliver successful school author visits ahead of Book Week. Children’s author Adrian Beck shares how he structures presentations and workshops to hook attention early, use visuals and participation, aim for realistic activities, and leave time for Q&A; he also recounts early failures and a moment where a shoe was thrown at him, and offers practical prep tips like bringing adapters, backups, arriving early, and keeping a visible clock. Teacher librarian technician Helen Farch explains how schools book author talks versus workshops, what engages students (authentic interaction and visuals), how librarians assess authors (events, word of mouth, websites and social media), and key logistics such as curriculum links, printing, arrival, and public liability insurance. Children’s author Kristin Darell discusses building confidence in kids’ stories, tailoring sessions by age and cohort interests, managing unpredictability and tech failures, using movement breaks, handling difficult questions, networking to secure visits, and self-care during busy schedules.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 School Visits Special Setup
03:11 Adrian Beck Overview
04:12 Talks and Workshops Format
07:35 Hooking Kids Fast
10:15 Participation and Flexibility
12:29 When It Goes Wrong
14:12 Shoe Story Disaster
16:36 Money Questions and Booking
19:54 Tech Prep and Timing
26:37 Helen Farch Introduction
27:22 What Makes Visits Work
32:17 How Librarians Choose Authors
35:25 Websites Curriculum and Fit
38:39 Logistics Insurance Paperwork
41:59 Authenticity Wins Visits
42:59 Memoir Author Captivates Teens
45:38 Every Kid Has A Story
48:37 Interactive Talks For Any Age
52:32 Microphone And Room Control
55:40 Workshops With Simple Structure
59:22 Slides Tech And Backup Plans
01:04:21 Keep Kids Engaged
01:09:11 Handling Questions Honestly
01:13:10 Booking More School Visits
01:18:52 Self Care And Wrap Up
Join our Patreon community 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

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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This special “mega ep” of The Book Deal Podcast, hosted by Tina Strachan, focuses on how to deliver successful school author visits ahead of August Book Week, featuring advice from Sarah Armstrong, Zanni Louise, Peter Carnavas, and Carla Salmon (with a second episode to follow). The guests describe the talks and workshops they offer, how they structure sessions to hold students’ attention, and what to avoid, emphasising interaction, storytelling, visuals, chunking content, and being authentic rather than “talking at” kids. They share practical strategies such as microphones, props, harmonicas, icebreakers, and provocative questions, plus contingency planning for tech failures, organisation and communication with schools, and building bookings through relationships, agencies, mailouts, bookshops, festivals, and school-linked associations. They also recount challenges, disasters, and memorable student questions, and stress gratitude to teachers and librarians and the impact of meeting young readers.

00:00 Podcast intro
00:56 School visits special
03:09 Sarah Armstrong begins
04:18 Workshops and talks
06:11 Hooking the audience
07:40 Props and pacing
09:19 Tech fails and recovery
10:48 Booking school visits
13:06 Smooth visit logistics
15:35 Zanni Louise begins
16:58 Tailoring by age
20:07 Teen icebreakers
21:10 Games and engagement
22:56 Errol performance bit
24:05 Advice for beginners
26:29 Present Your True Style
27:09 New Books and Community Theme
28:14 Resilience on the Road
30:28 Peter on Reader Connection
32:23 Talks Workshops and Demos
34:51 Structure Hooks and Signals
37:20 What to Avoid and Adapt
40:15 Booking Visits and Logistics
43:34 Carla Overprepares for Tech
49:58 Provocations Branding and Behavior
53:29 Finding Schools and Closing Advice
56:08 Podcast Wrap and Support
Join our Patreon community 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

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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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 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

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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...

Join our Patreon community 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

You can find out more about Tina, Madeleine and Natasha and follow their journeys here:
Tina Strachan (@td_strachan) • Instagram photos and videos
Tina Strachan children's book author
Madeleine Cleary (@madeleineclearywrites) • Instagram photos and videos
Madeleine Cleary | Author
Natasha Rai (@raiwriting) • Instagram photos and videos
Natasha Rai | Author | Mentor
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...