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Farah Naz Rishi, author of 'The Flightless Birds of New Hope' - Bestselling writer discusses being genre-less, getting into character through voice, and calming anxiety episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 6, 2026 · 49 MIN

Farah Naz Rishi, author of 'The Flightless Birds of New Hope' - Bestselling writer discusses being genre-less, getting into character through voice, and calming anxiety

from Writer's Routine

Farah Naz Rishi is a busy do-er with fingers in many creative pies. She's worked as a lawyer, a video-game journalist, a voice actor and is a bestselling author. Farah has written memoir, 'Sorry for the Inconvenience', which details her experience as a Pakistan-American Muslim Woman, also has published many Young Adult books, including 'If You're Not The One', and 'It All Comes Back to You'. Now, Farah has published, 'The Flightless Birds of New Hope'. Here's the blurb... We follow Aden Shah—who has made a career of running away when things get hard— as he reunites with his estranged siblings in the wake of their parents’ death. Tensions flare. And in a single moment of resentment, Aden sets free their parents’ favorite “child”: their prize-winning Major Mitchell’s cockatoo, Coco Chanel. What follows is a reluctant, chaotic road trip in a beat-up RV as the three Shah siblings chase Coco across the country. Along the way, they crash headlong into the eccentric world of birders, and into the unfamiliar people they’ve become. We discuss exploring connections, nature and sibling relationships. Also, you can hear how her work as a voice-actor influences her ability to get into character, and why she's ditched word-counts. You can hear how Farah shuts off her anxiety with wallpaper, how she tricks herself into writing, and about the first idea she had for her story. Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine This week's episode is sponsored by 'Minding Toby', the new novel by M.M. Rodeheaver. Find out more - https://margaretrodeheaver.com/ Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine @writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Farah Naz Rishi, author of 'The Flightless Birds of New Hope' - Bestselling writer discusses being genre-less, getting into character through voice, and calming anxiety

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