The Feather Journal
Welcome to The Feather - our community publication featuring creative work and craft reflections from writers of all ages and backgrounds. Here you'll find stories, poems, essays about writing, reviews, observations, and other scriblets from writers in Melbourne and around the world.
Another Dimension
Another Dimension
By Amelie Yong, 8
Melbourne, VIC
After dropping their twin girls off to camp for one week, the parents returned home to find an old bag that had some mysterious things inside it…
The Writing Reset: Building the Bridge Between Dream and Reality
By Amy Han
On the first morning of our recent writers’ retreat in the Victorian alps, ten of us gathered around the table in our A-frame cabin amongst the trees. Some were experienced writers, others self-proclaimed ‘baby writers’ exploring creative writing or returning after a long hiatus. Before we’d even opened our notebooks and laptops, I invited everyone into a simple exercise - one I return to at least once a year myself…
The Kingdom of the Lake
The Kingdom of the Lake
By Mike Bakhmoutski, 11
Melbourne, VIC
Howard ripped his bedsheets off of himself and looked out the window. It was nice and bright, and the birds flew and tweeted in the blue sky up above. It was a good day to go fishing…
July 2025 Flash Fiction Winner: Evolve
Read the winning entries from our April Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Evolve’…
June 2025 Flash Fiction Winner: Dark
Read the winning entries from our April Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Dark’…
May 2025 Flash Fiction Winner: Pride
Read the winning entries from our April Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Pride’…
March 2025 Flash Fiction Winner: Power
Read the winning entry from our March Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Power’…
The Moss Creatures Highly Commended Story - Emergent Writers (Age 11-14): The Old Castle Garden by Mike Bakhmoutski
The Old Castle Garden
By Mike Bakhmoutski, 11
Melbourne, VIC
Vincent looked up at the remains of the once-great castle…
The Moss Creatures Highly Commended Story - Understory Writers (Age 7-10): The Dream of Purple Guy by Izz Naeufal Bin Faizul
The Dream of Purple Guy
By Izz Naeufal Bin Faizul, 9
Kedah, Malaysia
In a quiet little village surrounded by emerald forests and singing rivers, there lived a boy named Izz…
The Moss Creatures Runners-up Story - Emergent Writers (Age 11-14): The Creature of Moss by Kelsy Wills
The Creature of Moss
By Kelsy Wills, 14
Young, NSW
“Oh, not now, Rocky,” said the man. Rocky whined at his predictable answer…
The Moss Creatures Runners-up Story - Understory Writers (Age 7-10): The Dream Boulder by Amy Sun
The Dream Boulder
By Amy Sun, 8
Melbourne, VIC
Chapter One - The Boulder’s Crack
There was once a village of small moss creatures…
The Moss Creatures Winning Story - Emergent Writers (Age 11-14): Untitled by Arissa Arween Norhasmawi
Untitled
By Arissa Arween Norhasmawi, 13
Malaysia
The forest of Hathi was vibrant with colours and flowers of all kinds…
The Moss Creatures Winning Story - Understory Writers (Age 7-10): Finding Tiny by Marley McGeady
Finding Tiny
By Marley McGeady, 10
Dunedin, New Zealand
Longaeva walked through the forest until she reached a big pine tree…
February 2025 Flash Fiction Winner: Again
Read the winning entry from our February Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Again’…
January 2025 Flash Fiction Winner: Fresh
Read the winning entry from our January Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Fresh’…
December 2024 Flash Fiction Winners: Giving
Read the winning entry from our December Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Giving’…
Keep writing: a reflection by writer Chelsy Husni
What began as a simple account to share poetry has blossomed into one of the most rewarding decisions of my life…
November 2024 Flash Fiction Winner: Utopia
Read the winning entry from our November Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Utopia’…
October 2024 Flash Fiction Winner: Light
Read the winning entry from our October Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Light’…
September 2024 Flash Fiction Winner: Doors
Read the winning entry from our September Flash Fiction competition! Our theme was ‘Doors’…