At AuthorsWiki, we are pleased to connect with Alishba Shamshad, a young author and poet from Sindh, Pakistan, whose literary journey has developed alongside the demanding world of medical education. A 4th-year MBBS student at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Alishba has continued to write poetry and stories while pursuing her medical career.
Her writing explores themes such as mental health, healing, heartbreak, self-love, isolation, emotional resilience, psychological struggles, and the complexities of young adult life. She has contributed to numerous national and international anthologies, with her work appearing across poetry collections, magazines, and other literary platforms.
Her first national anthology book was Art of Choosing Wrong, which included her poems on self-love along with her story Full Stop. Her second national anthology book is Midnight Radios. She has also contributed to around 20 international anthologies, including Whispers Beneath the Night Sky: Volume 2, Threads of a Thousand Rhymes: Volume 3, Where Words Meet Thoughts: Volume 1, Fragments of Woven Emotions Volume 3, Verses Between Battles, Inked Emotions – Volume 1, A Constellation of Aspiring Hearts – Edition 1, A Breeze That Swept Me Away, The Season of Tender Frosts Volume 1, Canvas of Voices – Volume 2, Threads of Time – Volume 5, Rise Beyond Limits, Chai, Coffee and Confessions, Unbroken Lines – Volume 2, New Beginnings, A Little Forever – Volume 5, and The Feminity of Words.
Alishba is now preparing to publish her first solo poetry collection, The Pursuit of Dreams, which brings together poems shaped by dreams, heartbreak, emotional resilience, self-discovery, psychological struggles, and the experience of navigating young adulthood.
In this conversation with AuthorsWiki, Alishba Shamshad talks about balancing medical school with writing, her unusual five-minute writing method, the experiences behind her poetry, her achievements as a young writer, and why she believes writing has become a way to process, heal, and keep dreaming.
AuthorsWiki: Apart from writing, what is your occupation for livelihood?
Alishba Shamshad: I am a 4th-year MBBS student at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Pakistan.
AuthorsWiki: Tell us something about your first book.
Alishba Shamshad: My upcoming debut book, The Pursuit of Dreams, masterfully blends classical poetic sensibilities with modern themes. It focuses heavily on the pursuit of dreams, goals, heartbreak, emotional resilience, the pain of unrequited feelings, social realities, psychological struggles, and navigating the complexities of young adult life. It comprises many poems, such as God and Luck, Oh, Dear Men, Me and Moon, and others.
AuthorsWiki: Would you like to tell us about your published books?
Alishba Shamshad: My first national anthology book was Art of Choosing Wrong, which consisted of my poems on self-love and a story, Full Stop. My poems in general explore mental health, emotions, healing, heartbreak, and self-love.
My second national anthology book is Midnight Radios. I have contributed to about 20 international anthologies apart from that. Some of them include:
1. Whispers Beneath the Night Sky: Volume 2
2. Threads of a Thousand Rhymes: Volume 3
3. Where Words Meet Thoughts: Volume 1
4. Fragments of Woven Emotions Volume 3
5. Verses Between Battles
6. Inked Emotions – Volume 1
7. A Constellation of Aspiring Hearts – Edition 1
8. A Breeze That Swept Me Away
9. The Season of Tender Frosts Volume 1
10. Canvas of Voices – Volume 2
11. Threads of Time – Volume 5
12. Rise Beyond Limits
13. Chai, Coffee and Confessions
14. Unbroken Lines – Volume 2
15. New Beginnings
16. A Little Forever – Volume 5
17. The Feminity of Words
AuthorsWiki: Where did you get the inspiration for publishing books?
Alishba Shamshad: I get inspiration for writing stories and poems from my younger self. I have written stories like Meaningless Connections and The Room Where Everything Changed for Dawn Newspaper, which explore complex topics like isolation.
My poem on self-love, published in Retropolitan, says:
“My love for me was more than my love for you, so this finally sets me free.”
Through 22 anthology books and poems, I want to make my younger self feel seen, heard, and appreciated, and I want my readers to feel the same.
Right now, I am working on my debut book, which explores themes of healing from past versions of ourselves, failures, and psychological struggles.
AuthorsWiki: How do you manage your time to write a book?
Alishba Shamshad: With medical school, it was challenging to dedicate time to writing. I started writing poems and stories and publishing them on websites, magazines, and newspapers. To get the thrill of being published, I then started writing for anthology books.
So, I worked for about 22 anthology books. This was easier to manage rather than writing a solo poetry book at once. As we know, anthologies comprise either a few poems or 10–15 pages, so it’s better and easier to go for it and get experience first.
Then, I started compiling all my poems into a single solo poetry book. That’s my baby book, The Pursuit of Dreams, which is coming soon.
It’s really hectic to manage writing with a medical career. It’s distracting, it’s isolating, and people say, “What’s the need?” I honestly get random thoughts after my study sessions, late at night, so this urge doesn’t end—to write, to dream big.
I will say a line from my own poem:
“I have seen myself suffering in the journey of life
And frequently wandering in this burning desert
In the fire of grief, often like this setting sun
I have watched all my dreams fall apart”
—Alishba
AuthorsWiki: What is your favorite writing method—the one in which you write the most?
Alishba Shamshad: I honestly write when I know I have to study and I have just five minutes to write anything, any idea, any inspiration, and I have just five minutes because after that, I am going to end the timer.
It won’t work for everyone, but it works for the ones with a hectic medical career who are short on time. For example, my spoken-word poem Oh, Dear Men was written this way. I gathered an idea for five minutes in my mind and wrote all that. It’s about control and misogyny. Then I worked on the rhythm of the poem.
A few lines from it say:
“She was deemed rude just because you weren’t permitted.
She set a boundary and you couldn’t handle it
You played with mixed signals while holding someone else’s hand
And made her bury the weight of harassment from another man!
Oh, dear men,
Don’t love her that much”
—Alishba
AuthorsWiki: When did you start writing, and how did your interest in writing begin?
Alishba Shamshad: I started writing in childhood but couldn’t publish it. I used to write poems in my diary. Life went on, and I put in all my efforts in my studies and got admission on merit in a government medical college. I started my degree. Then, sometimes, I still used to write—the same diary, the same old me.
Then I thought, for the first time, I have endured enough. Academically, the struggle never ends. I cannot waste my talent. I will do both. I want to do both, at least try. Then I started publishing my poems and stories.
AuthorsWiki: Is there any special achievement in your life that you would like to share with us and your readers?
Alishba Shamshad: I am ranked 308th in the Euphoria: Global Poetry Festival of India, nominated for “Most Inspirational Author of the Year” at the MBCC Awards – UK, and for “Community Impact” in Baku. In my own country, I won the Pak Achievers – Cultural and Literary Awards 2026 as an author and poet.
One thing that people say is that you keep winning things and that you don’t even have a solo book yet. So yes, that’s the inspiring thing about me. I don’t use extra, heavy vocabulary, and also, all my achievements up till now are based on my stories, short poems, anthology books, magazines, etc.
Before a solo book, I won international honours. My readers say, you talk about themes that are bold and confronting—misogyny, like in the poem Oh, Dear Men; self-love, like in This Finally Sets Me Free; and isolation, like in the story The Room Where Everything Changed.
AuthorsWiki: Are you planning to write or publish a book in the present or future?
Alishba Shamshad: I am planning to publish a book as soon as possible. I am just in the finalizing stages, and it’s coming. I am excited. The cover is live.
It’s a poetry book featuring my poems. The name is The Pursuit of Dreams.
Sharing a poetry line from my book:
“I once cast a storm of dust, reaching for the skies,
But I realized—everyone must pay a price for such heights”
—Alishba
From another poem, Me and Moon:
“You could have been the moon in my poetry,
But you chose to be the monster in my book”
Me and the Moon – A Love Too Distant to Hold
You were so far—distant, yet bright.
Was it love, or just fate at first sight?
I watched you gleam among the stars,
Admired you more for your silver scars.
But you were never mine, not even to touch.
You never knew—I loved you too much.
I left it to fate, surrendered the fight,
But nothing changed, not even the night.
I spoke to you when the dark grew long,
Wove you into every poem and song.
They laughed, said I loved a ghost,
But only you knew what I craved the most.
You lit the sky, but dimmed my soul,
Filling my cracks, yet leaving a hole.
Why do I love what I can’t ever reach?
Why must the moon be the one to teach
That sometimes love is meant to ache—
To burn, to break, for memory’s sake.
Still, every night, I look up too soon:
Just me, my heart, and you—my moon.
—Alishba
AuthorsWiki: Would you like to give a message to your readers and fans?
Alishba Shamshad: My message to my fans and readers would include requesting them for support and asking them for prayers. I know poetry and writing rarely pay bills. I know it’s difficult, I know it’s hard. When young writers start writing, they either post their talent on the internet for free, others use them without credits, or they get in the hands of publishers who ask them instead for money to get their talent recognized.
As a person who has stayed away from both things, I have mentored writers on my page for free, told them how to get their stories published and get paid. I have given them free publishing guides on how they can set boundaries by not saying yes to publishers who either ask for money from them instead or won’t pay them. I have told them how to get international fully funded opportunities and will keep doing so. I request prayers only in return and support.
I am writing my poetry book at 23 with an ongoing MBBS degree, and I believe it’s never too late to write your own story, to do what your heart says, maybe a little.
AuthorsWiki: Every writer has their own ideal. Do you also have an ideal writer? And what are your favorite books that you always want to read?
Alishba Shamshad: I don’t have an ideal writer. I love all of them. I engage with each one’s content. I don’t read as much. I honestly don’t get time to read other writers’ work, even since I have started medical school and my own writing journey. I just have my own little world, where I explore what needs to be written without even thinking if someone else has written it before or not.
Because my version of things matters. Because when I say something deeply poetic, that’s different from everyone else. I believe I am unique. Yes, I love all the writers. I love different perspectives, languages, and people. Whenever I get time, I read them and love their work. I always wanted to read a bilingual poetry book but never got to find any, so I am creating my own.
AuthorsWiki: Apart from writing, what are your other hobbies that you enjoy in your free time?
Alishba Shamshad: I love making content and doing voice-overs on my own poems. I love reading—that’s a lie because now I hardly get time to read full-length books or novels, because medical school makes everything tough.
But yes, I love taking some fresh air, maybe walking, listening to podcasts, and watching dramas. Women love dramas, they say! And definitely, it’s true. Women are emotional, expressive, and dramatic at times.
AuthorsWiki: Would you like to remain in the writing world in the future as well?
Alishba Shamshad: I would like to write solo books. I am planning to write a novel in my final year too. I cannot leave writing at this point. Whenever my degree gets stressful, I sit down to write, to process, to heal. That’s why my writings include themes of mental health and isolation. I love writing stories and poems. I think that heals something inside me.
About Alishba Shamshad
Alishba Shamshad is a Pakistani author and poet from Sindh who is currently pursuing her 4th-year MBBS degree at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro. She began writing poetry in childhood and continued writing alongside her academic journey.
Her literary work explores mental health, isolation, healing, heartbreak, self-love, emotional resilience, and the psychological struggles of young adulthood. She has contributed to numerous national and international anthologies and has also published stories and poems through literary platforms, magazines, and newspapers.
Her upcoming solo poetry collection, The Pursuit of Dreams, brings together her poetic exploration of dreams, heartbreak, healing, failures, emotional struggles, and the complexities of growing through difficult experiences.
For Alishba, writing is more than a creative pursuit. It is a way to process life, preserve her younger self’s voice, and heal through words. While continuing her medical education, she remains committed to writing poetry, stories, and eventually solo books and a novel.
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It was a pleasure connecting with Alishba Shamshad and gaining insights into their creative journey, experiences, and perspectives as a writer. We sincerely appreciate their time and contribution in sharing their thoughts and insights with the AuthorsWiki community.
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