Category: Books

Books, Mark Gonzales, Salaam Reads, Writing

@SalaamReads offers diversity, peace and hope

Raidah Shah Idil

Salaam Reads, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, welcomes manuscripts about Muslim children and young adults. Folks, start writing!

Check out their upcoming publications: Amina’s Voice and Yo Soy Muslim!

@SalaamReads, thank you for giving a voice to the many, many Muslim stories out there, just waiting to be heard ❤

I’m so excited about the diversity, peace and hope that these books offer. I grew up with Enid Blyton and other books that had characters who looked nothing like me. Now that I have a daughter, I see the importance of her reading books with more relatable characters and themes.

Speaking of which, my daughter loves “My Father’s Farm” and “My Mother’s Kitchen” – gorgeous Malaysian picturebooks filled with native joy, written by Emila Yusof. It’s so cool to see beautifully illustrated Malaysian flora and fauna.

When I point to Dina, the main character in the storybooks, and ask my daughter who that is, she grins, points to herself and says, “Taskeen!” ❤

Books, Life

My book launch in Singapore tomorrow! @wardahbooks

Raidah Shah Idil

Tomorrow’s the day! My Singapore book launch is at The Malay Heritage Centre, under the banner “Author Sessions at Hari Raya Open House”. Thank you, Wardah Books! Please come down for my book reading and signing, and bring your friends and family. See you there in less than 24 hours 🙂

Admission is free but registration is required – just email ibrahim@wardahbooks.com to register.

Here are the details:

Session 1: Raidah Shah Idil, author of ‘Finding Jamilah & The Story of Yusuf’

Venue: 10:15am to 11am,
Anjung, Level 2,
Museum at the Malay Heritage Centre

Singapore-born Raidah Shah Idil is a writer, poet, storyteller, creative instructor and a Digging Deep, Facing Self (DDFS) alum based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her debut double-featured novel, “Finding Jamilah and the Story of Yusuf” was published in early 2014. Her writing has been published in The Feminist Wire, SISTERS magazine, Daily Life, Lip Mag and Venture Beat. Raidah’s poetry was recently published in the ‘Armed With Only Our Souls’ online DDFS chapbook by NY poet, Caits Meissner.

As an instructor at Axiom Learning, Raidah teaches children and teens about creative writing, public speaking, and the power of poetry. Raidah has recently taken to the stage and is now a budding spoken-word artist. You can find her turning compost in her garden, hunting for herbs and collecting good stories.

Programme:

Book-reading
Book-signing
Books, Life

My book launch in Singapore, on August 23rd! @wardahbooks

Raidah Shah Idil

My Singapore book launch will be held at The Malay Heritage Centre, under the banner “Author Sessions at Hari Raya Open House”. Thank you, Wardah Books! Please come down for my book reading and signing, and bring your friends and family. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Admission is free but registration is required – just email ibrahim@wardahbooks.com to register.

Here are the details:

Session 1: Raidah Shah Idil, author of ‘Finding Jamilah & The Story of Yusuf’

Venue: 10:15am to 11am,
Anjung, Level 2,
Museum at the Malay Heritage Centre

Singapore-born Raidah Shah Idil is a writer, poet, storyteller, creative instructor and a Digging Deep, Facing Self (DDFS) alum based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Her debut double-featured novel, “Finding Jamilah and the Story of Yusuf” was published in early 2014. Her writing has been published in The Feminist Wire, SISTERS magazine, Daily Life, Lip Mag and Venture Beat. Raidah’s poetry was recently published in the ‘Armed With Only Our Souls’ online DDFS chapbook by NY poet, Caits Meissner.

As an instructor at Axiom Learning, Raidah teaches children and teens about creative writing, public speaking, and the power of poetry. Raidah has recently taken to the stage and is now a budding spoken-word artist. You can find her turning compost in her garden, hunting for herbs and collecting good stories.

Programme:

Book-reading
Book-signing
art, Books, Reading

My Book Launch – Monday, March 31st, 7:30 pm @ LMA Library, Level 3

Raidah Shah Idil

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I have exciting news! I’ve been invited to be part of the “Write On The World Tour”, hosted by the LMA. I’m thrilled to be part of a tour spearheaded by Mark Gonzales, of #wagebeauty fame. Sara Saleh and May Fahmi are also wonderful artists in their own right.

On the 31st of March, I’ll be one of the panelists on the “Word’s Worth Forum”, which will be followed by my book launch. My book will be available for sale and book signing on the night, and I’ll also be performing a 30 minute book reading.

I’ll see you there!

(Tickets are $10. Please register at events@lma.org.au)

Books, Family, Writing, young adult

My novel: Finding Jamilah & The Story of Yusuf

Raidah Shah Idil

my bookHere it is, ladies and gentlemen! In the flesh! I’m so thrilled to see my book in my Sydney family home. So exciting!

It’s been one incredible journey, and I’d like to thank everyone who’s supported me through it: my amazing family, my awesome friends, near and far, and my publisher, MyLegacy Publications, for bringing my story into print. Alhamdulilah, it’s wonderful to see my dream of being a published author come true. Truly, Allah is Most Generous.

The number one question I’ve been hearing is: “How do I buy your book?” Good question. For now, I’m planning to sell copies of my book at my book launch in Sydney. I’m currently in KL, Malaysia, and plan to be in Sydney between March 23-April 6.

Stay tuned for updates on my Sydney book launch, and I hope to see you there!

Books, Marketing, young adult

What makes a good book cover?

Raidah Shah Idil

 

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What makes a good YA book cover? That’s as subjective as asking anyone what their favourite book is. Still, there are some trends across the board, and I’ve listed a few great websites about YA book covers:

Trends in Young Adult Book Covers: A funny and succinct snapshot of trends in YA book covers, with lots of pretty pictures. Lots.

Goodreads Best YA Book Covers: The best YA book covers, voted by Goodreaders.

How To Judge A YA Book By Its Cover: Here’s a clever and oh-so-snarky analysis of what to do (and what not to do) when deciding on a YA cover.

Uncovering YA Covers: 2011: My favourite YA book cover analysis. Fascinating! And alarming. There aren’t enough protagonists of colour, and there seems to be an awful lot of emphasis on dead girls -__-

If you ask me, a good YA book cover leaves room for the imagination, has great typography, atypical main characters, and stands out from the rest.

 

 

Book review, Books, Life, Opinion

When The World Ends, NY Times Fiction Piece

Raidah Shah Idil

799138_battle_begins_iiThe New York Times ran a great fiction piece today: When The World Ends, by Elyse Pitok.

Elyse’s piece is short and powerful, much like a punch to the gut. It really makes you think – what would happen if we were at the end of the world? All these luxuries that we take for granted will vanish. We’ll all be stripped down to the basic act of survival. How will that change you?

She very cleverly juxtaposed the protagonist having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with, well, the world ending. That takes mastery. One of my favourite lines:

But you realize that there is so much healing to be done, and no more. Tomorrow you will still be skinny. The next day you will still be obsessive. The day after that you will still be compulsive. No amount of therapy or medicine or patience is going to change that, but somehow you will find a way to coexist with your neuroses.

Her piece reminds me of Cormack McCarthy’s The Road, a novel which disturbed me for weeks. At this point, I wouldn’t re-read it. I have no intention to watch the movie, either. But was it a good book? Yes, so good I think it might have given me nightmares. Apocalyptic fiction is not for the faint of heart. The scary thing is that at the rate humankind is burning up resources – how far away are we from the point of no return? It’s a harrowing thought.

As one of my teachers taught me – tread lightly upon the earth. It’s the only one we have.

Books, Life

Finding Jamilah is getting published!

Raidah Shah Idil

I have wonderful news! Finding Jamilah is going to get published! Yesterday, I met with Belal Taha from MyLegacy Publications to hash out the details. Stay tuned for a print edition with a brand new cover.

Belal told me that he bought my eBook, really enjoyed it, then he contacted me about putting it in print. As a self-published author, this is a dream come true. The world of self-publishing is a tough one – finishing my story and putting it on Amazon was the easy part, but marketing it, getting it into print and into bookstores was the hard part. I’m really glad that now I have a publishing house to back me up, and to help me get my story into homes around Australia, and elsewhere.

For all aspiring authors out there: Believe in yourself, believe in your story, and keep writing! Thank you MyLegacy Publications and to my family and friends who believe in my story. May this be the beginning of many, many more.

Book review, Books, Classics

On Moby-Dick

Raidah Shah Idil

I have a confession to make. It took me several years to finish reading Moby-Dick. It took me ages to read it, but to actually understand what happened…um. I’m still working on it. If anyone has any tips about how to get a better understanding of the events and symbolism in this novel, please let me know!

I loved the powerful opening line – Call me Ishmael. First lines are meant to grip the reader, and propel them to the second line, and so forth, and Moby-Dick did exactly that. The language befuddled me at several points, so I definitely need to do several re-readings.

I don’t know much about sailing, boats or whaling, but by the end of the novel, I learned that the ocean is not a force to be trifled with. And that whales can be SCARY. Especially hulking old ones with a vendetta against a one-legged madman. It goes to show the double-edged sword of relentless ambition….you may get what you want, but is the price something you’re willing to pay? Hm.