You can change the world just by sharing your story.
Barack Obama
The Human Writers 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 adults, encourage them to share their non-fiction 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 — because we don’t need to be writers to tell our stories. We just need someone to listen.
The name The Human Writers is a play on human rights: a reminder that older people’s voices matter. 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 — and written by the people who lived them.
The Human Writers began as an Australia-based webzine but is now seeking previously unpublished non-fiction contributions from writers aged 50+ from all around the world.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 has a story — some just need help finding the words. Need help bringing your story to life? That’s exactly why I’ve launched the new Human Writers Storytelling Service, a one-on-one writing service that helps older people — or their families — preserve a short, personal story to treasure forever. Whether it’s shared at a funeral or celebration of life, printed for loved ones, or simply saved for safekeeping, the goal is simple: leave something real. Email editor@thehumanwriters.com for pricing or to find out more.
Everyone is someone. And everyone has a story. What’s yours?
If you’re ready to start reading, click here.