Australian author Inda Ahmad Zahri finds a moment between writing, illustrating, being a doctor, campaigning for social justice and parenting to answer some questions about what inspires her diverse work and just where she finds the time.
Nida Fiazi (NF): You’re a surgical doctor, an illustrator, an author, a mum (of three, including twins!) and an activist too! That’s a lot of hats for one head but you seem to wear them exceptionally well. I’ve heard that you ‘create in the cracks’—what does that mean and can you talk us through what that looks like for you?
Inda Ahmad Zahri (IAZ): Thank you, that’s very kind! Especially as I feel like the hats are threatening to topple off my head most of the time!
‘Creating in the cracks’ is my way of moving forward with a project or task in tiny portions, and making the most of those windows of opportunity between the day’s obligations. I can’t say that it’s the most ideal way to work—I often wish I could have long stretches of time to myself and really get into the flow of whatever it is I’m working on, but then again, perhaps if I had that, I’d end up squandering it with some other distraction anyway!
So instead, I make do with little blocks of time. I always have a notebook or sketchbook in my purse when I’m out and about, so if an idea or a line occurs to me, I’ll scribble it down. I might mull over something while driving, and then jot it on my phone before getting out of the car. I might pop open my iPad and finish colouring in some linework that I managed in the last little ‘crack’ in the 10 minutes that the kids are distracted by a puzzle. It just helps me store away little morsels of work so that when I finally do have a larger chunk of time to myself, I already have this pantry of ingredients to work with.
NF: The picture books you have created/been a part of are all so different from one another. Where do you draw your inspiration from, and how do you decide which ideas to develop further and which ones to leave?
IAZ: Just as I can’t stop at reading about only one topic, I can’t limit myself to writing about just one thing either. It’s really tempting to niche down and be an expert at a certain field, and I’ve always resisted that, and felt almost guilty about it—we’ve all heard the phrase, ‘The jack of all trades is a master of none’.
I tend to let my curiosity run amok, and it’s usually somewhat guided by the seasons of my life. Becoming a mother to my daughter 9 years ago definitely felt like a call to adventure where children’s literature is concerned—I wanted to write books for her that were sometimes about her, or about her heritage. Night Lights which is a fictional recollection of life in the Malaysian ‘kampung’ or village is one such story, and The Month That Makes the Year coincided with the first time she really engaged in the spiritual practice of Ramadan.
And then we had the twins, which turned our world upside down! And the first surreal anticipation of them came as a refrain in my head which turned into Twice The Love. The three children together star in How To Measure The Ocean, which is about curiosity and tackling big questions, couched in math and science and our family’s love of the ocean.
Aside from my cheeky muses, I am moved by social justice issues, like the plight of refugees, which inspired Salih, and other issues which will feature in upcoming books, inshaAllah. But you know, I also really love a sweet story or a hearty laugh!
As picture books are quite short, it’s easy to have a whole carousel of them in various stages. Some are half-written and need maturing, so I think of them as ‘composting’. A lot of them are on submission, and I’m always hoping that my agent will call to say someone is interested!
But basically, I’m willing to give every idea a good go, and embrace being multi-passionate. That saying about ‘Jack’ used to make me feel bad, until I learned the second part to the phrase, which is, ‘and is oftentimes better than a master of one’.
NF: Your published work includes stories told in verse. Which do you find easier to write: prose or verse?
IAZ: Stories tend to come to me in one way or the other. It takes shape in the form of a line. If the next line that follows sounds stronger in prose, then I carry on that way. But if the next line holds a cadence or becomes a refrain, then I’ll explore it in verse. I can’t say which is easier—they are both enjoyable to write. It takes a little bit more effort perhaps to make things rhyme, but also more satisfying to get right!
NF: As someone who both writes and illustrates, what do you like about the process of working on both the text and illustrations of a book versus just one or the other?
IAZ: Illustrating a book is a huge undertaking—it’s definitely more time-consuming and labour-intensive than the writing, and has many layers of planning to it: from storyboards to characters, to visual narrative. I used to think waiting to get the illustrations back on a story was hard, until I became the person doing the illustrations! The upside is that I get to exert a little more creative control, and I love inserting little Easter eggs in my illustrations that I can pull out and point to afterwards. Having said that, I also love to be surprised and blown away by the artistic interpretation of other creatives, and I’ve been so blessed with the most talented and kind artists in the books I’ve authored. And sharing a project is very special, so although I’m hoping for more author-illustrator titles, I cherish every one that I get to ‘buddy-up’ with.
NF: Speaking of illustrating, what’s your favourite medium to work with?
IAZ: I’ve used the Procreate app on iPad Pro for The Month That Makes The Year and How To Measure The Ocean and I love it. I can’t seem to wrap my head around any of the other programs, and Procreate is the right blend of versatility and accessibility for me.
I would love to start doing more analogue art, though, and my go-to would be watercolour, but I am also exploring pencils, collage and linocut just for fun!
NF: You’re working on your first middle grade book (or should I say books? I heard something about an adventure trilogy!) since receiving the ASA/CA Mentorship Award in 2021. How has it been, tackling a longer project?
IAZ: Haha, you have very impressive sources! I am indeed planning an adventure trilogy, as the first book features three very different child characters that are thrown into a situation together, and so I would love for each one to have a starring role in their own exotic setting.
Writing a longer project is both taxing and wonderful. After the limitation of 500 words to a picture book, it feels amazing to stretch my arms and legs and go crazy at the keyboard, but all the little doubts and stress points that I run into with a shorter manuscript also blow up into much bigger proportions when my word count starts hitting the tens of thousands.
It’s not something I can do in one sitting. My middle-grade novel took about 4 years to get to its current state (currently on submission after 2 major revisions) and a lot of that time was spent in the proverbial ‘drawer,’ letting time do its work so that when I take it out again, some of the writing doesn’t feel like my own. And I think that’s how a story grows. It requires many, many hours with bum in seat, getting a rough draft out on the page, reading and revising, but it takes an equal amount of time away from the desk, and just living life and letting ideas mature. Having feedback from my ASA mentor, Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright, my agent, Annabel Barker, and writing friends have also been invaluable.
NF: You also offer courses (You CAN Draw Too) and free guides for aspiring creatives—how has your journey as an author/illustrator been impacted by similar resources?
IAZ: My first portal into the kidlit world was a free weekend workshop at my local library with Aleesah Darlison about writing picture books. It was an eye-opener. It gave me the basic rules, a structure to writing a story and routes of publication—everything I had no clue about. Aleesah also encouraged me to write my story in English; I had planned to write a short Malay story for my daughter about her great-grandparents, but she said there would be interest in culturally diverse stories, and that’s how Night Lights came to be.
I then went to Aleesah’s Sunshine Writing Retreat which was a fantastic investment, and from there went on to meet so many people who were generous with their time, knowledge and support. So, having crossed many bridges since then, I really want to be able to lend a hand to the next person.
As for drawing, I came to it later in life! I was convinced that if I wasn’t ‘born an artist’, I had no business even trying, but I took some online drawing lessons in my early thirties and I guess I haven’t stopped. I realised that a lot of what stops grown-ups from making art is in our minds, which is why I started ‘You CAN draw’ to dispel those myths and make the practice more accessible and hopefully enticing to people who would otherwise not have dared to start.
NF: I want to touch on a phrase you’ve mentioned that has stayed with me: ‘If you write for kids, fight for kids’. I know many in the industry hesitate to be as vocal as you have been about social issues for various reasons: maybe they’re afraid they will lose opportunities, be censored in some way or they want to avoid potentially ostracising a population of their readership. Perhaps they feel it isn’t their place to say anything. Did you have these concerns? What pushed you to speak out and champion children in this way?
IAZ: I have no concerns about alienating readers or people if the reason they want to distance themselves from me is because I believe that innocent people should not be killed. Or because I disagree whole-heartedly with the extermination of a population of fellow human beings and the deliberate killing of children in the tens of thousands, the way that the Israeli occupation and its allies are doing to the people of Palestine.
And it’s not an outlandish stance that I’ve taken on out of the norm. It’s simply an extension of the values that I live for on any given day. If I write books to foster a love of reading in children and I delight in my books being in used in schools or other places of literacy, then how can I not be affected by the fact that 625,000 children have been deprived of school for more than a year, that universities have been blown up, and writers, artists, journalists and academics are being assassinated?
If as a doctor I advocate for health and treatment for my patients and fair working conditions for medical staff, then how do I not bellow when hospitals are being directly targeted—the siege of Al Shifa, mass graves in hospital grounds, people burned alive in tents in Al Aqsa Hospital, the abduction and abuse of staff at Kamal Adwan Hospital, the deliberate attacks on ambulances, the babies left to decompose at Nasser Hospital?
If as a parent I would do everything to protect my child, how can I not stand in solidarity with those mothers and fathers running with their children from bombed out houses and shelters, trying to find things to eat, and worst, cradling their child in a shroud? How does one stay silent?
‘If you write for kids, fight for kids’ is a powerful phrase coined by my friend Danielle Davis and is accompanied by an illustration by Julie Rowan Zoch. Along with other kidlit creators, we formed a group called Story Sunbirds, and we found each other because we were devastated by the silence from the kidlit community where it mattered the most—the genocide of a people and a war on children.
Palestine is one of many conflicts raging across the world. Sudan. The Congo. The Uyghurs. There is overwhelming injustice and I wouldn’t be able to dedicate the same amount of time and energy to all of them, but I do believe that they are the result of the same root cause, which is power and profit over people and planet. And perhaps I’m galvanised by Palestine in particular because my homeland, Malaysia, have long stood in solidarity with the Palestinians against the apartheid conditions there, and because in the occupation of Palestine we see the very deliberate act of silencing and impunity for the aggressor. So when we speak up, we’re saying, the propaganda and double-standards are not going to work anymore.
NF: Your social media platforms, particularly Instagram, are dedicated to advocating for children. This past year your content has included things like Today’s Talking Points (where you essentially summarize and update your followers on current events), weekly portraits of children that will #neverreadbooksagain, and donation links/QR codes for Coffees For Gaza (an online campaign that raises funds for families in Gaza). Have you faced any backlash or negative consequences career-wise as a result? If so, how do you deal with it?
IAZ: I really appreciate that you’ve acknowledged these things, thank you.
No, I haven’t received any backlash, alhamdulillah, and in fact very few in the way of online trolls (which get immediately blocked anyway!) Conversely, I feel like I found my people. I’ve met like-hearted author and illustrator friends within KidlitSOUL and Story Sunbirds, and a whole family both in the ‘outside’ and in Gaza with Coffees For Gaza.
So, thankfully, instead of having to deal with negative consequences, I’m anticipating the publication of an upcoming picture book next year inshaAllah, written by me, illustrated by the brilliant Syd Fini, and published by the Bright Light imprint of Hardie Grant which is a young person’s anthem of solidarity with children in war zones. It’s called Our Voices, Together and is due out mid-2025. I wrote it during the military assault on Gaza in May 2021. While it was devastating to witness yet another attack on innocent Palestinians and see it either ignored by the larger world or treated with double-standards and propaganda, I also saw a more vocal, more aware and more urgent movement standing up for the liberation of Palestine around the world, even among the young who are probably the wisest of us all.
So this book is a promise to children in all zones of conflict that we understand our collective duty to protect them, even if it’s by speaking up with the might of one small word.
NF: On a lighter note, if there’s anyone who can make time for hobbies on top of everything else it’d be you, so tell us, what do you like to do in your downtime (do you have any?!) / how do you like to unwind?
IAZ: Oh, I wish I shared your conviction! Sadly, I don’t have any exciting hobbies, nor the time to do them even if I did! Perhaps I would just do the same things, but without the urgency of looming deadlines.
NF: Lastly, can you tell us what we can look forward to from you?
IAZ: Publication-wise, I have 2 picture books slotted for 2025. I’ve mentioned Our Voices, Together while the other is a cute bedtime story for early childhood with Little Book Press.
I’d love to finish off a few other book ideas, but in the meantime I’m very busy with Coffees For Gaza projects, including our #PEACETOBER Art Auction to raise money for our Gazan families bracing for a harsh winter, which has just gone live today [November 11]!
We are also proud to start launching pre-orders for a very special titled Tabkha which contains 20 authentic Gazan recipes by one of the mums we’re supporting named Mona Zahed. Each of her recipes has been illustrated by an artist from the group, and so it’s a delectable culinary and visual treat! We had such a mad, joyous time making this book and were lucky to have the kind expertise of Slingshot Books in getting it to publication. We’re hoping to raise money through sales to support Mona’s family of 4 children, and the others under the Coffees For Gaza umbrella, too.
And finally (I can’t help myself) I’ve just started an online book-club community called Stretch Your Shelf. The idea is to explore books from at least 3 different genres with each monthly theme, but we are dedicating all of November to Palestinian stories and authors, will book lists, live events and lots of connections and discussions! If your readers would like to join in, you can find out more via @stretch_your_shelf on Instagram.
Thank you so much for inviting me to answer your thoughtful questions. It’s been such a pleasure and an honour.
Nida Fiazi has worked in the New Zealand book industry for the past five years as a poet, editor, reviewer, and advocate for better representation in literature. She is a Hazara Kiwi Muslim and a former refugee based in Kirikiriroa. Her work has appeared in Issue 6 of Mayhem Literary Journal, the anthology Ko Aotearoa Tātou | We Are New Zealand, and Poetry NZ Yearbook 2021. She is currently penning an opera with Tracey Slaughter.