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Naz Riahi

@nazriahi.bsky.social
164 followers 208 following 37 posts

Writer. Artist. Filmmaker. Filmmaker Mag 25 New Faces of Indie Film, Vimeo Best of the Year winner. Yaddo, Edward Albee Foundation & Jan Michalski Fellow. Essays & stories in A Public Space, Harper's Bazaar, Longreads, Pipe Wrench, Catapult… nazriahi.com

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Reposted by Naz Riahi
Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
“The things I could not say, Satrapi finally said for me.” What Marjane Satrapi means to @nazriahi.bsky.social as an Iranian in exile.
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Merci, Marjane: What the <em<Persepolis Author Meant to Me as an Iranian in Exile
I’m in my car, in a Trader Joe’s parking lot in South Pasadena. On the phone, my friend Monika is telling me about a lost dog in her Salt Lake City neighborhood, a blue heeler who’…
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Kelly Caldwell @kkc212.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Another beautiful paean to Marjane Satrapi, whose influence and loss are both incalculable, from filmmaker @nazriahi.bsky.social. Today's must read! lithub.com/merci-marjan... #WritingCommunity
lithub.com
Merci, Marjane: What the <em<Persepolis Author Meant to Me as an Iranian in Exile
I’m in my car, in a Trader Joe’s parking lot in South Pasadena. On the phone, my friend Monika is telling me about a lost dog in her Salt Lake City neighborhood, a blue heeler who&#8217…
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Such insightful reflections from filmmaker Silas Howard on rejection open.substack.com/pub/inalette...
open.substack.com
Silas Howard Answers the Rejection Questionnaire
A series on how artists cope with rejection
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Mark Armstrong @markarms.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
My Friday newsletter for @niemanstoryboard.org: @mallarytenore.bsky.social on @rachelaviv.bsky.social's Pulitzer finalist story, plus @jamiattenberg.bsky.social's #1000wordsofsummer, @nazriahi.bsky.social on rejection, and Paul Kix on editor feedback. niemanstoryboard.org/2026/05/29/p...
niemanstoryboard.org
A closer look at a Pulitzer finalist story about mental illness and recovery - Nieman Storyboard
Rachel Aviv's annotations on a woman's schizophrenia diagnosis. Plus: Asking editors the right questions
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
3 spots left in my very popular, all-levels, writing class. If you’re interested in six weeks of community and deadlines, in a low-stakes and kind setting, it might be for you. Nazriahi.com/classes
nazriahi.com
Classes — naz riahi
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Over on Substack, I’d love to know what you think/how you feel about this. substack.com/@nazriahi/no...
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
The coolest person I know, writer, filmmaker and music critic, Jessica Hopper, opens up about rejection. open.substack.com/pub/inalette...
open.substack.com
Writer Jessica Hopper Answers the Rejection Questionnaire
A series on how artists cope with rejection
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
It was so difficult to write this, but I wanted to offer some nuance and a point of connection. open.substack.com/pub/inalette...
open.substack.com
Cry Cry Cry
47 Years of Tyranny and What Happened in Iran Today
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Cheetah Spottycat @cheetah-spottycat.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
@nazriahi.bsky.social very rightfully said:
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
In a new series, I interview artists about how they cope with rejection. Ten questions with vulnerable, revelatory answers about something they is often a huge part of our lives and artistic practices. open.substack.com/pub/inalette...
open.substack.com
Playwright Gina Young Answers The Rejection Questionnaire
A series on how artists cope with rejection
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
A sort of writing craft essay walking you through how I wrote my current piece in Harper’s Bazaar. open.substack.com/pub/inalette...
open.substack.com
My Vertigo
Or How to Write an Essay (sort of)...
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
New essay in @harpersbazaar.com.web.brid.gy about this intense political moment in Iran (and the US) in which I attempt to understand my own numbness. www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...
harpersbazaar.com
I Left Iran as a Child. I Search for Hope in the Uprisings.
A daughter of the Iranian diaspora grapples with feelings of hopefulness and futility during an extraordinary moment of protests.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
I didn’t realize this would hit so hard but my post on how to leave Spotify has gone viral on Instagram and hundreds of people have replied saying they did it! It’s truly a painless process. Thinking about doing it is more arduous than doing it.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Got to meet the only person giving me hope these days @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social and feel so privileged to get to support his campaign for mayor. Please get out there volunteer for him and tell everyone you know to show up and vote for this historic candidate.
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 13/06/2025
All Senator Padilla wanted was to do his job and get the questions his constituents had answered — instead, he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed. This is Donald Trump's America, where they attack our freedoms. We cannot be intimidated or scared by their abuses of power.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Wrote an essay about exile, on the 36th anniversary of leaving Iran, and as I consider my future in this country... inaletter.substack.com/p/exile-is-a...
inaletter.substack.com
Exile Is a Prison
36 years...
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 14/05/2025
Israeli strikes killed dozens of Palestinians in northern Gaza overnight, Palestinian health officials said on Wednesday, as Israel threatens to ramp up its military campaign in the enclave despite mounting international pressure.
nytimes.com
Israeli Airstrikes Kill Dozens in Northern Gaza Overnight, Hospital Director Says
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
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Antoine Wilson @antoinewilson.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Using AI to write papers is like bringing a forklift to the gym.
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Alexander Chee @alexanderchee.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
This will sound weird but love yourself enough to write your own term papers.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
I wrote about my resistance to leave home and my first few days at The Edward Albee Foundation where I’m a writing fellow and where other writers, like @alexanderchee.bsky.social are sending me messages through their books. Very big vibes here. open.substack.com/pub/inalette...
open.substack.com
Montauk, NY
Writers Are Talking to Me
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
I’m headed to the Edward Albee Foundation for a residency and feeling immensely grateful to him for creating this invaluable opportunity. I can’t wait to be in the house he and his partner shared for so many years. Hoping his spirit will move my pen, if it’s not too much to ask ;)
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Nieman Storyboard @niemanstoryboard.org · 25/04/2025
Our Friday newsletter: How do you define journalism? Plus: Mary Schmich revisits Studs Terkel's "Division Street," Livingston Award finalists, @michaelngraff.bsky.social's stories about Charlotte, and @nazriahi.bsky.social's ode to rejection. niemanstoryboard.org/2025/04/25/w... #storytelling
niemanstoryboard.org
What is journalism, and why does it matter? - Nieman Storyboard
Pulitzer Prize-winner Mary Schmich's new podcast, plus Livingston Awards and local storytelling in Charlotte, North Carolina
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
I know we all feel some way about rejection, but I'm surprised and delighted by all the responses to this short essay on my own experiences with rejection as an artist and writer and how I cope. Thanks to everyone reading, engaging with and sharing this. inaletter.substack.com/p/so-difficu...
inaletter.substack.com
So Difficult. So Worth It.
The road to success is paved with rejection...
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Mark Armstrong @markarms.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Love this ode to rejection by the great @nazriahi.bsky.social. inaletter.substack.com/p/so-difficu... #writing #booksky
inaletter.substack.com
So Difficult. So Worth It.
The road to success is paved with rejection...
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
If you read one thing today…this week…this month…let it be this extraordinary and essential essay by Kaveh Akbar in @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/acti...
thenation.com
What Will You Do?
What’s your “I am Spartacus” move to protect the more vulnerable, the targeted, the invisibled, the next-on-the-list?
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Jenisha Watts @jenishawo.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
“We are now in the second decade of a years-long temper tantrum sparked by the election of Barack Obama—not to mention the failed attempts to elect a woman to succeed him...” @adamserwer.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
theatlantic.com
The Great Resegregation
The Trump administration’s attacks on DEI are aimed at reversing the civil-rights movement.
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 20/02/2025
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
My mother and brother are finally vindicated.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
I have a short story, The Desert, in the new issue of A Public Space, which is extra thrilling as I’ve loved the journal and wanted to be published by them since their inception. Keywords for this story: mothers and daughters, oy. Mickalene Thomas. Wanda. Pippa Bacca. Gay gay gay. Coyotes. Desert.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Wrote about two moments I’ve experienced when life was most present and disappearing simultaneously. It was a week. And just the start. inaletter.substack.com/p/disappeari...
inaletter.substack.com
Disappearing Earth
A view from the top
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Going to de-activate Twitter, but don’t want anyone to ever forget my greatest accomplishment so far was taking this picture.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Weird to be away from home at this time but also immensely grateful to the Jan Michalski Foundation. Escaping to Switzerland for this writing residency couldn’t have come at a better time.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 28/12/2024
There are 4 spots left in my very fun essay class. All levels welcome. We work with prompts and deadlines to get writing, while talking about craft and building a community. Info and sign up: nazriahi.com/classes
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
I made a list of the best things I read, watched and saw this year. Books, essays, stories, poems, films, performances, art and tv. Let me know your favorites. inaletter.substack.com/p/a-list-of
inaletter.substack.com
A List of ...
Everything Good I Read, Watched, Saw This Year
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Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
Fifty-one of women's worst nightmares are going to prison. Countless other nightmares remain at large. www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...
theguardian.com
Gisèle Pelicot rape trial: ex-husband jailed for 20 years as all 51 men found guilty
Gisèle Pelicot addresses other sexual violence victims after the verdicts, saying outside court: ‘We share the same fight’
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Mark Armstrong @markarms.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
An epic year-end reading (and watching and listening) list from @nazriahi.bsky.social #longreads inaletter.substack.com/p/a-list-of
inaletter.substack.com
A List of ...
Everything Good I Read, Watched, Saw This Year
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Laurie Woolever @lauriewoolever.bsky.social · 21/07/2023
Sharing this podcast episode here because I’m proud of it, the song is great, and the whole SongWriter series is such a great listen: songwriterpodcast.com/laurie-woolev…
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 06/07/2023
LA friends, I’m performing an original piece of writing at MOCA (Museum of Comtrmporary Art Los Angeles) next Thursday. You can RSVP at the link and I’d love to see you there. Hopefully there’ll be some laughs and maybe other emotions, too. www.moca.org/program/sorority-not-me
moca.org
SORORITY: NOT ME
Established in 1979, we are the only artist-founded museum in Los Angeles. We are dedicated to collecting and exhibiting contemporary art.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 30/06/2023
My dog is dreaming next to me in bed and I'm writing a short story for my collection, even though I'd rather be watching reality tv. Seems as good a start as any to this app.
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Maud Newton @maudnewton.bsky.social · 28/06/2023
"I was raised with drag, by drag. We all were." A new essay by @alexanderchee.bsky.social: www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/featu…
harpersbazaar.com
Life Is Drag
Right-wing politicians across the country have seized on drag shows as a hot-button issue. But the art form has always been with us.
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Andy Richter @andyrichter.co · 29/06/2023
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Jelani Cobb @jelaniya.bsky.social · 29/06/2023
The ruling today points to the radicalism of this particular Supreme Court and some of the most absurdist views that have been passed off as reasonable. None of this is new or surprising but it is worth thinking about how some of this may play out.
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Naz Riahi @nazriahi.bsky.social · 29/06/2023
On the end of affirmative action. "almost from the outset, critics of the policy could be seen impatiently tapping their watches, questioning how long (white) society was meant to endure the patent unfairness of these racial considerations." @jelaniya.bsky.social
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Helen Rosner @hels.bsky.social · 29/06/2023
I respect that the vibe on here isn’t really “let’s talk about babies and the endless kobayashi-maru of being a female parent,” but also hey I wrote a super long Instagram caption about the goddamn miracle of feeding my baby formula www.instagram.com/p/CuFad0_gT-V/?ig…
instagram.com
Helen Rosner on Instagram: "Here’s what 8 months of zero breastmilk did to my baby ➡️ I love ...
3,426 likes, 145 comments - Helen Rosner (@helenr) on Instagram: "Here’s what 8 months of zero breastmilk did to my baby ➡️ I love the trend of parents post..."
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