Dr Kerry Jewell on Traditional Publishing, A Little Unwell, and Why GP Advocacy Matters

Chris interviews Dr Kerry Jewell, a Melbourne-based nuclear medicine physician and writer, about her debut novel A Little Unwell (Hachette), a darkly funny medical drama following junior doctor Amy and drawn from real clinical experiences while protecting patient confidentiality through “scrambled” stories. Jewell outlines her path to traditional publishing: years of drafting, joining writing communities (Writers Victoria, Australian Society of Authors), writing short stories, entering the Richell Prize (Hachette/Emerging Writers’ Festival) where she was shortlisted in 2020, then completing the manuscript, seeking a literary agent during her own breast cancer treatment, and navigating structural and copy edits before publication. The conversation also covers the realities of Australian book sales, the importance of supporting local writers and independent bookstores, and Jewel’s message that all doctors should advocate for stronger, sustainable general practice. 00:00 Show Intro Theme 00:20 Meet Dr Kerry Jewel 02:00 What We Will Cover 03:48 Writing Roots And Medicine 05:56 Why She Wrote The Novel 09:58 Replacing House Of God 11:08 Art Versus Medicine Reality 14:21 Drafting And Word Counts 17:14 Finding A Writing Mentor 18:32 Book Sales And Shelf Life 24:31 Joining Writing Communities 28:24 Why Community Matters 29:41 Finding Your Writing Community 31:19 Richell Prize Breakthrough 34:19 Finishing the Manuscript Years 36:19 Cancer Diagnosis and Work 38:14 Searching for a Literary Agent 42:11 Signing with Hachette 43:07 Editing and Tropes 46:09 Australian English and Markets 48:02 Promoting the Book 49:02 Advocating for General Practice 52:26 Where to Buy the Book 54:26 Final Wrap and Farewell Hachette book info: https://www.hachette.com.au/kerry-jew... Website: https://www.kerryjewell.com/ Instagram:   / drkerryjewell   ASA: https://www.asauthors.org.au/ State Writing Centres: https://writersvictoria.org.au/ https://writingnsw.org.au/ https://queenslandwriters.org.au/ https://www.ntwriters.com.au/ https://writerssa.org.au/ https://www.writingwa.org/ https://taswriters.wildapricot.org/ https://www.writerscentre.com.au/