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Word Oysters is a free, volunteer-run magazine where home educated kids and teens from across Australia can publish their writing (stories, poems, essays, and anything else in between) and feel truly seen. Our magazine is non-hierarchical: whether you write daily and see yourself as an author, or you struggle to put pen to paper, lack confidence and self-belief, your writing has a place in Word Oysters.

Our focus is on the experience of being published, and the pride, inspiration, and confidence that comes from seeing your words in print. Every piece is expertly edited to fit our house style while keeping the writer’s voice authentic. This means that we correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar, standardise formatting, and ensure clarity, but will never change your ideas, style, or tone, and we don’t delete your sentences or alter your voice. In this way, you also gain insight into professional editorial processes and the care that goes into presenting writing thoughtfully.

For readers, Word Oysters is a place to explore new voices, be inspired, and enjoy a wide variety of creative work. Reading the magazine offers a window into what other home educated kids and teens are thinking, imagining, and creating. The aim is to build understanding, connection, and a sense of community nation-wide.

By bringing together writers and readers from all over Australia, Word Oysters celebrates creativity, aiming to foster confidence and strengthen the home educating community through shared stories, ideas, and creative expression.

Help me Keep Word Oysters ad-free
This magazine is a free, volunteer-run space for young writers. Ads now appear on free WordPress sites, which disrupt the reading experience.
Your support will help me keep the magazine ad-free and focused on students’ work. Contribute Here →

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Word Oysters is an online magazine that showcases the creative writing of home educated students in Australia. But what IS a word oyster?

Oysters can be secretive creatures; notoriously, they keep their treasures to themselves. However, an oyster can also take something extremely personal and make it public, transforming the inner world into an object of delight for others. In nature, oysters move and grow as the moon waxes and wanes – they are as elemental as the human soul.

Word Oysters, then, are the people who put their inner world into words and make it public. The writers who refuse to keep their special knowledge secret. They are the writers who shape their unique human experience into words and offer it up so that others can feel it too.