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
Writer's Routine
Dan Simpson
4.9 • 599 Ratings
🗓️ 6 March 2026
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week's episode of writer's routine is sponsored by Minding Toby, the new novel by M. M. |
| 0:06.5 | Roadheaver. If you know a child who needs an inspiring new story to capture their imagination, |
| 0:12.4 | minding Toby is perfect. Margaret Roadheaver writes, fantastic stories, ones that get right to the |
| 0:18.7 | heart of human thought and experience. She finds the magic |
| 0:22.9 | in the every day. Her new book is inspired by the wonderful dogs that she's had over the years, |
| 0:28.6 | and what it really means to grow up. Minding Toby is all about Ember, who had one job, |
| 0:35.1 | minding Toby, only now, well, he's gone. |
| 0:39.1 | Life hasn't been great for Ember. |
| 0:41.0 | Her mum barely notices her. |
| 0:42.5 | Her dad's visits are awkward. |
| 0:44.4 | Her school is a daily battle with the tiresome bully. |
| 0:47.6 | Her big sister's just left home for college. |
| 0:50.0 | It's just pet sitting Toby, the sweet dog next door. |
| 0:54.1 | It's the only part of Ember's life that feels simple and safe. |
| 0:59.0 | And when Toby goes missing, Ember must search and find him. |
| 1:03.9 | And along the way, uncovers family secrets, new friends, and even her own place in a changing world. |
| 1:10.8 | Now, M.M. Roadheaver has written so many |
| 1:13.1 | different books for different audiences and really understands how to write stories which connect, |
| 1:19.0 | which is why I think her novels for children work so well. They find the magic in the every day. |
| 1:24.1 | They get right to the heart of the world and our place in it. Now, minding Toby is a |
| 1:29.1 | mid-grade story, so it's perfect for kids who are between 9 and 11, just starting to question |
| 1:35.6 | who they are, what might be happening. If you know a child there who needs a new story, |
... |
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