We would LOVE for you to submit your original artworks for publication in Word Oysters magazine.

Artwork and illustration play an important role in Word Oysters. We understand visual art, like writing, as a creative language able to articulate ideas and imagination, and to inspire others to create, interpret, and imagine new horizons.

Presented alongside a piece of writing, a drawing, painting, collage, or photograph can open a reader’s imagination, set a mood, or offer a different way into that piece of writing. In our first issue, student artwork brought the magazine to life, and we are keen to continue making space for young artists alongside young writers.

We warmly welcome artwork and illustrations created by home educated kids and teens, either as part of a writing submission or as a standalone piece. Your artwork can be used to accompany your own writing, or, if it’s a standalone artwork, it will be paired with another student’s work to help illustrate and enrich it. This sharing of creative work is part of the spirit of Word Oysters: different voices and forms in conversation with one another.

When student artwork is available, it is always our first choice. We want young people’s creative work to be seen, valued, and attributed to them. Every piece of artwork used in the magazine is credited to its creator. When student artwork is not available for a particular piece, we may use freely available online images or AI-generated images to ensure the magazine remains visually cohesive, but these are a substitute rather than the ideal. Our preference is always to showcase students’ creativity.

From a practical point of view, artwork can be submitted as an image file, ideally a JPEG image/clear photograph attached to an email and sent to: wordoyster@protonmail.com.

If you’re unsure whether something is suitable, we encourage you to send it anyway. Word Oysters exists to nurture creative confidence, and that includes taking risks, sharing work, and seeing it received with care.