Stories are a communal currency of humanity.
Tahir Shah
The Human Writers: Creative Ageing in Australia is a multimedia initiative created by writer and editor Caitlin O’Toole. The community-oriented project includes Write From the Start! memoir writing workshops, a webzine, a magazine, a podcast, and more, all designed to engage older Australians, encourage them to share their life stories, and have those stories heard, honoured, validated, published, and preserved.
The Human Writers, a vision years in the making, celebrates the fact that writing can enrich the mind and nurture the spirit regardless of background, life circumstances, or age. It is a place to express, tap into one’s truth, experiment, and explore. It is specifically designed to include non-“writers” so it is a safe space to express, reflect, review, and engage, regardless of formal training.
The Human Writers webzine seeks previously unpublished contributions from older adults all across Australia. Your work does not have to be perfect. It can be a few words, one line, a poem, a story, or a memory. Videos, handwritten entries, and voice recordings will also be considered for publication.
If you’d like to be featured reading your piece in our “Meet the Author” audio feature, please send a voice recording to editor@thehumanwriters.com — in the recording, say your name, where you are located, and read your work, or an excerpt from it. Please add a few words about what inspires you to write and/or what inspired you to contribute to The Human Writers.
Jenny Zimmerman of Woodend, VIC is our featured author. Click the below arrow to listen to Jenny read her piece “The Sad Tale of Sebastian Becker“.
Everyone is someone. And everyone has a story. What’s yours?