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

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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...