Raidah Shah Idil  is a detective fiction, young adult, fantasy/sci-fi, classics and poetry enthusiast. She was born in Singapore and migrated to Sydney, Australia, at the age of 12. She graduated from the University of New South Wales in 2005 with a BSc (Psychology) and BA (English). Alongside her studies, she worked as a volunteer hospital chaplain for 5 years, at the Prince of Wales Hospital and the Sydney Children’s Hospital. 

Raidah lived in Amman, Jordan from 2009-2011, studied the Islamic sciences with traditional scholars, worked as a marketing copywriter and travelled around the Middle East. She returned to Sydney at the cusp of the Arab spring. Shortly after, she married her best friend. In the spirit of returning to her roots, they migrated to Malaysia in early 2014. Since then, Raidah has completed a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) through Murujan, a counselling diploma through AIPC and worked as a creative instructor at Axiom Learning. Most significantly, Raidah has given birth to two strong little girls and her little boy. No, she does not get much sleep. Yes, she has no shortage of kisses and cuddles.

Her writing has been published in SBS Voices, Muslim Matters, SISTERS magazine, The Feminist Wire, Daily Life, Lip Mag, The Elephant Journal, Venture Beat and MuslimVillage. Her debut novella, Finding Jamilah & The Story of Yusuf was published by MyLegacy Publications in early 2014. Her poetry has been published in the “Armed With Only Our Souls” anthology by New York Poet, Caits Meissner. Her poetry was featured in the 2014 Australian Muslim Artists exhibition at the Islamic Museum of Australia.

Her recent publications include her short story ‘Datuk’, featured in the short story anthology, Bitter Roots, Sweet Fruits. Her poetry has recently been published in Rumi Center’s Opening the Eye of the Heart Anthology II taught by Baraka Blue. Her personal narrative, “The Memory of Mee Soto”, was shortlisted in the local Fay Khoo Award in 2018 and available for purchase here: Telltale Food: Writings from the Fay Khoo Award 2017 – 2019. She is part of the anthology Safar: Muslim Women's Stories of Travel and Transformation, edited by Sarah Malik.

Raidah’s debut Middle Grade fantasy novel, How To Free A Jinn, will be published on September 3rd 2024 (in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Oceania). Raidah is represented by Allison Hellegers of Stimola Literary Studio.

Raidah's current projects include raising her three little children and writing despite hilarious exhaustion. She is currently working remotely for Basira Education and is a Basira-Certified teacher of Why Islam Is True. Audiobooks, podcasts, and regular reading help to keep her afloat. Raidah lives with her husband, children and mother-in-law in Petaling Jaya, a green, leafy suburb in Malaysia. One day, she hopes to live on a farm (but never without Wi-Fi!). 

**Note: Raidah is no longer a counsellor for the SeekersHub Q&A service Please do not contact her on social media and ask her for counselling. Please direct your counselling questions to resources such as Ask The Counsellor.

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