The Book Deal

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 Sarah Snook (Succession) playing the lead. It became the most-streamed TV show in America during the first week of its release. Her most recent novel, It Should Have Been You, won Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the 2025 An Post Book Awards. It was a No.1 bestseller in Ireland for six weeks, and a Top Ten Sunday Times bestseller in the UK. Her book No One Saw a Thing was a Sunday Times number one bestseller and has sold over half a million copies. Andrea lives in Dublin with her husband and three children. 
You can find Andrea on Instagram @andreamaraauthor. 
02:09 From blogging to novel writing
03:40 Getting permission to write
09:30 Landing a three book deal
10:59 Agents
17:52 All Her Fault 
20:51 Filming in Melbourne & adaptations
31:01 Such A Nice Girl 
33:22 Plotting
38:20 Domestic Suspense 
41:44 Crime writing techniques
47:30 Wrap Up 
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Tina Strachan children's book author
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Madeleine Cleary | Author
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Madeleine chats with debut Aussie novelist, Shannon Kelly-White. 
Shannon is a happy country girl who writes gritty, hopeful fiction about women who push back. Fascinated by freedom and spirit, she writes stories that blend fierce heart, a longing for connection, and a love of the landscapes that shaped her. A former nurse turned award- winning cookbook author turned novelist, she spends her days buried in books, accompanied by fluffy dogs and one opinionated orange cat. She lives in Yarrawonga with her most precious thing—her family.
Shannon's debut novel, Billie King (HarperCollins Australia, July 2026), has been described as Leah Purcell's The Drover's Wife meets Trent Dalton. Madeleine loved it! A gusty colonial girl meets Australia's last female bushranger who is on a quest for revenge. 

00:56 Introduction
01:33 Billie King
03:40 Inspiration 
05:57 Finding Billie’s Voice
06:54 Kids are the best
10:52 From Nurse to Novelist
15:52 Mentorship
17:58 HarperCollins acquisition and editorial
22:26 Vulnerabilities
28:28 The setting
31:08 Writing flawed characters
41:08 Shannon's next novel
41:59 Writing historical fiction for a modern audience
43:55 Writing Routine
45:30 Top Tip
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.
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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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The Book Deal podcast interviews Australian literary agent Grace Heifetz about her career and advice for writers seeking traditional publication. Heifetz discusses founding A4 Literary in late 2024 with colleagues across Sydney and Melbourne to create space for new industry talent, take on more writers, and keep Australian authors primarily represented in Australia. She describes her background in arts and her long tenure at Curtis Brown, her approach to agenting as a big-picture structural reader, and the “matchmaking” of pairing manuscripts with the right publishers. She explains submission realities—capacity limits, reading time, sharing promising work with colleagues, and the importance of following guidelines, researching agents, and submitting finished, polished fiction manuscripts. Heifetz addresses market challenges, changing sales expectations, reduced international buy-ins, publisher consolidation, and the need for arts funding, while encouraging optimism, writer involvement options in screen adaptations, and emphasizing patience, perseverance, and focusing on the work over trends.

00:00 Podcast Introduction
00:43 Meet Agent Grace
02:13 Why Start A4
05:58 Taking The Leap
07:31 Defining Next Gen
08:45 Grace Origin Story
12:17 First Clients Lessons
14:40 Matchmaking Manuscripts
15:50 Reading Submissions Reality
18:48 Finding The Right Agent
20:27 Quotas And List Curation
21:23 Debut Versus Established
21:58 Sales Numbers Reality Check
24:55 Submission Guidelines That Matter
25:52 Finish the Manuscript First
27:26 Reasons for Publishing Optimism
29:49 Selling Australian Books Overseas
32:23 Economy and Publisher Consolidation
35:44 Book Adaptations and Author Involvement
38:46 Future Hopes for Publishing
40:38 Patience and Writing From Heart
42:57 Building a Long Term Career
44:05 Final Thanks and Sign Off
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.
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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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We've hit 100 episodes! Thank you so much for supporting us over the last two years. We couldn’t have done it without you.
In our 100th episode, we reflect on two years of interviews with authors and publishing professionals. From meditation to tax, we've covered a lot and we're excited for all the tips and tricks to come.
If you'd like to submit a question for our Agony Aunt, Toni Jordan, as part of our upcoming live episode as part of the Emerging Writers' Festival, then you can do so here. Even if you're not attending live, do submit all your anonymous questions and we'll try to get to them on the show!
Tickets to our live event are also available here.  
00:00 Podcast Intro
00:43 Celebrating 100 Episodes
02:27 Looking Back at Episode One
04:37 Edits, edits, edits
07:07 Why Rewriting Matters
12:28 Book Week 
13:08 Book Week 
14:08 School Visit Survival Tips
16:40 Emerging Writers Festival 
18:36 Patreon Favorite Episodes
22:57 Meditation, Mindfulness, Reset
27:07 Lessons From 100 Episodes
34:49 Thanks And Farewell

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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Tina Strachan interviews award-winning children’s author Sarah Armstrong about the wide recognition of her middle-grade survival thriller Run (including CBCA, Davitt, REAL, ABIA listings and Amazon bestseller status) and why pacey, “Trojan horse” thrillers can engage both reluctant and enthusiastic readers while carrying deeper themes. They discuss boys and literacy, emphasising socioeconomic factors, reading role models (especially dads), and how gatekeepers and book covers can influence perceptions. Armstrong introduces her new novel The Wave, about 13-year-old Max facing an unexpected tsunami while searching for his dog, and weaving in local housing and tourism pressures. She shares advice on creating vivid settings, transitioning from adult fiction and journalism to kidlit, finding supportive critique groups, her upcoming online writing courses and Substack, and her key tip: embrace major rewrites and use structure tools like Save the Cat.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 Meet Sarah Armstrong
01:40 Run Awards Buzz
02:29 Why Run Works
04:57 Boys and Reading
10:28 Dads Reading Idea
11:09 New Book The Wave
12:07 Themes and Trojan Horse
13:45 Writing Vivid Settings
18:27 From Adult to Kid Lit
20:37 Why Write for Kids
22:07 Publishing the Switch
22:40 Sticking With Kid Lit
23:01 Agents And Publishing Path
23:44 Switching Genres Confidence
24:08 Online Writing Courses
26:21 Self Paced Learning Benefits
27:01 Inside The Critique Group
30:21 Finding Your Own Group
32:55 Giving And Taking Feedback
36:23 What Sarah Writes Next
37:41 Rewriting Makes The Story
39:41 Structure Tools Save The Cat
41:22 Thanks 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
If you want to stay in the know, sign up to Madeleine, Tina and Natasha's newsletters for the latest news first.
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