Storytelling is our obligation to the next generation.
Isabel Allende
Welcome to The Human Writers: a home for real-life stories, told by the people who lived them. The name itself is a little bit of wordplay on human rights — a reminder that older people’s voices matter, and that their stories deserve to be heard, shared, and preserved. It’s also a quiet nod to the value of real, human-made storytelling in an increasingly automated world. Here, the stories are alive, written by the people who lived them, and told with honesty, heart, and the messy brilliance of lived experience.
This project exists because I kept meeting people with incredible stories — about love, loss, illness, joy, survival, and second chances — who had never been asked to tell them. Somewhere along the way, we were taught that only certain people get to be “writers.” I don’t believe that. I think if you’ve lived, you have something worth saying.
This is a place where lived experience becomes story. We publish essays, memoir pieces, reflections, and audio recordings from people of all backgrounds, especially voices that are often overlooked or forgotten as we get older. The focus here is on real stories told in the first person, with light editing, a lot of care, and a genuinely welcoming, no-judgment space.
You don’t need a writing degree to be here. You don’t need to be “good with words.” You just need a story you’re ready to tell.
When someone tells their story, something shifts. They feel seen. Their family hears them differently. Their life stops being invisible. That’s what this project is really about: preserving voices, one story at a time.
If you’ve ever thought, “Someone should write this down,” it might be you.
The Human Writers is seeking previously unpublished non-fiction contributions from writers aged 50+ from all around the world. 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.
Lisa Borkovich of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada is our featured author. You can listen to Lisa read her story “A Moment Can Alter a Person Forever” by clicking the below arrow:
Everyone is someone. And everyone has a story. What’s yours?
If you’re ready to start reading, click here.
If you’re ready to submit your own story, click here.