Welcome to Kelly's Writerly Q&A, a podcast that celebrates authors and their books! I'm your host, Kelly Sgroi, writer, reader, and soccer mum.

Listen to my 28th episode where I chat to Camille Booker, multi-award-winning historical fiction author, editor, teacher, PhD candidate, literary judge, and my dear writing friend whose third novel just came out with Hawkeye, and it's an engrossing read! Purchase a copy of Code Name Funnel Web using my Booktopia affiliate link.

We discuss:

• Our previous two chats
• Code Name Funnel Web, how and why it was rewritten 
• Book launches
• Motifs
• Covers
• Being stuck

And more!

Thank you for listening!

Music credit to Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

*If you enjoy this podcast, please like, share, follow, and consider buying a copy of the book using my Booktopia affiliate link or buy me a Ko-fi. Your support, big or small, will help cover hosting and production costs, and keep me creating and supporting authors and books!

Welcome to Pictures & Pages with Amy Freund, a Kelly's Writerly Q&A Podcast spin-off series that takes you behind the scenes of the Australian publishing industry!

Listen to Amy's 4th episode where she chats to Publishing Director for Children’s books, Kate Chisholm. 

This episode is all about: The role of the publisher.

• What does a publisher look for in a manuscript? 
• How involved is a publisher in the book creation process? 
• And how do trends affect a publishing program? 

To answer these questions and more, we’re joined by publisher, Kate Chisholm. Kate’s career has spanned the full publishing spectrum – from print to audio, commercial titles to educational textbooks. A lifelong lover of art, Kate has always had a soft spot for children’s books, and is now the Publishing Director at Five Mile, with a focus on picture books and book plus product.

Whether you're pitching your first book or wanting to understand more about what a publisher does, this episode is packed with important information you won’t want to miss.

Thank you for listening!

Welcome to Kelly's Writerly Q&A, a podcast that celebrates authors and their books! I'm your host, Kelly Sgroi, writer, reader, and soccer mum.

Listen to my 27th episode where I chat to Ashley Kalagian Blunt, ‘Australia’s queen of tech noir’. Her third novel came out with Ultimo Press in Feb, and it's a thriller! Purchase a copy of Like, Follow, Die from Booktopia via my affiliate link. 

We discuss:

•  Like, Follow, Die
• Audible
• What inspired Ashley to write this story
• Being a podcaster
• Ashley's unpublished manuscripts

And more!

Thank you for listening!

Music credit to Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

*If you enjoy this podcast, please like, share, follow, and consider buying a copy of the book using my Booktopia affiliate link or buy me a Ko-fi. Your support, big or small, will help cover hosting and production costs, and keep me creating and supporting authors and books!

Welcome to Kelly's Writerly Q&A, a podcast that celebrates authors and their books! I'm your host, Kelly Sgroi, writer, reader, and soccer mum.

Listen to my 26th episode where I chat to Leearna Shaw, debut contemporary rural romance author. Her debut novel is out on the 31st of March with Allen & Unwin, and it's the comfort read we all need. Purchase a copy of A Farm in Golden Clouds via my Booktopia affiliate link. 

We discuss:

• A Farm in Golden Clouds
• How Leearna got her most important yes
• Endometriosis
• What happens when you don't win
• The multiple manuscripts Leearna wrote before her debut novel
• Rejection

And more!

Thank you for listening!

Music credit to Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

*If you enjoy this podcast, please like, share, follow, and consider buying a copy of the book using my Booktopia affiliate link or buy me a Ko-fi. Your support, big or small, will help cover hosting and production costs, and keep me creating and supporting authors and books!

Welcome to Pictures & Pages with Amy Freund, a Kelly's Writerly Q&A Podcast spin-off series that takes you behind the scenes of the Australian publishing industry!

Listen to Amy Freund's 3rd episode where she chats to Mary Anastasiou, marketing extraordinaire, children’s author, and publishing mentor.

This episode is all about: Marketing

• What actually helps sell your book?
• What should authors stop spending time on?
• How can creators build a sustainable publishing career beyond one book?

With over 20 years’ experience in branding and creative marketing, Mary shares practical, honest insights into what really works for authors, from marketing strategies that move the needle to how much support publishers actually provide. As the author of 13 picture books and the creator of the Marketing Matters framework, she brings a commercially grounded approach to helping authors grow their audience and career. 

Whether you're launching your first book or looking to refine your strategy, this episode is packed with actionable advice you won’t want to miss.

Thank you for listening!

Welcome to Pictures & Pages with Amy Freund, a Kelly's Writerly Q&A Podcast spin-off series that takes you behind the scenes of the Australian publishing industry!

Listen to Amy Freund's 2nd episode where she chats to Amy Lee, Taiwanese-Australian illustrator and SCBWI member who illustrated Amy Freund's debut picture book, Amigo the Capybara!

This episode is all about:

• Illustration 
• How do you get noticed as an illustrator? 
• What's the process from sketches to final art? 

Answering these questions and more, meet Amy Lee, better known as Kooky Chooky. Amy Lee's first picture book was Amigo The Capybara, published in 2024 by Five Mile Books and she continues to delight the publishing industry with cracky characters and her hand drawn aesthetic.

Thank you for listening!

Welcome to Kelly's Writerly Q&A, a podcast that celebrates authors and their books! I'm your host, Kelly Sgroi, writer, reader, and soccer mum.

Listen to my 25th episode where I chat to Cassie Stroud, writer, editor and book lover. Her debut novel, just came out with HQ Books at Harper Collins Australia, and she’s an absolute beauty inside and out. Purchase a copy of Iluka via my Booktopia affiliate link. 

We discuss:

• What Iluka is about and what makes it a beauty
• The way Cassie writes with brevity
• Setting and POV
• What's impacted Cassie the most during her journey to beocming an author
• Cassie's first yes
• Her next novel

And more!

Thank you for listening!

Music credit to Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

*If you enjoy this podcast, please like, share, follow, and consider buying a copy of the book using my Booktopia affiliate link or buy me a Ko-fi. Your support, big or small, will help cover hosting and production costs, and keep me creating and supporting authors and books!

Welcome to Kelly's Writerly Q&A, a podcast that celebrates authors and their books! I'm your host, Kelly Sgroi, writer, reader, and soccer mum.

Listen to my 24th episode where I chat to Jo Dixon, best-selling Tasmanian-based author of twisty, suspenseful stories, such as her multi-award-winning debut, The House of Now and Then. Purchase a copy of her latest, which came out in October 2025, A Disappearing Act via my Booktopia affiliate link.

We discuss:

• How Jo refers to this book as the one that nearly broke her
• Imposter syndrome
• Pitching
• How to write multi POV and dual timeline stories

And more!

Thank you for listening!

*If you enjoy this podcast, please like, share, follow, and consider buying a copy of the book using my Booktopia affiliate link or buy me a Ko-fi. Your support, big or small, will help cover hosting and production costs, and keep me creating and supporting authors and books!

Music credit to Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay.

Welcome to Pictures & Pages with Amy Freund, a Kelly's Writerly Q&A Podcast spin-off series that takes you behind the scenes of the Australian publishing industry!

Listen to Amy's 1st episode where she chats to Andy Warren, the award-winning book designer of The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams and Affirm Press and many more books published by Hardie Grant Books, Bonnier Publishing Australia, Five Mile, and Harper Collins Australia. He's the designer behind so many books for all ages across a wide range of genres.

This episode is all about:

• How a book actually gets made.
• How much say an author really has in their book design.
• If we should we judge a book by it's cover.

Thank you for listening!

FROM THE ARCHIVES 🎙️ Welcome to Kelly's Writerly Q&A, a monthly blog series that is now a podcast!

Listen to my 23rd episode where I chat to Donna M Cameron, an AWGIE-nominated radio dramatist, award-winning playwright and short film writer. Her first novel, Beneath the Mother Tree, was published in 2018. Her second novel was published in 2024 and was shortlisted in the 25th Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards. An important read! Purchase a copy of The Rewilding from Booktopia via my affiliate link.

Then I take a look back on some key tips on courses and comps, rejection, and writing and feedback from Amy Freund, R.W.R. McDonald, Deb Jordan, Casey Nott, Emma Mugglestone, Camille Booker, Clare Griffin, Kylie Orr, Shaeden Berry, and Valerie G Miller. 

Thank you for listening!

*If you enjoy this podcast, please like, share, follow, and consider buying a book using my Booktopia affiliate link or buy me a Ko-fi. Your support, big or small, will help cover hosting and production costs, and keep me creating and supporting authors and books!

Music credit to Levgen Poltavskyi from Pixabay