HELLO! Have you heard?

Youkie is pausing for the rest of 2023, so we can review and reset production.

Please know this decision wasn’t taken lightly. And there’s good news for anyone who wants to join the Youkie crew right away: gift bundles and much-loved previous issues are still in stock (take a look over in our store).

This magazine doesn’t exist without our brilliant readers and subscribers, contributors and supporters. Thank YOU for making it possible.

Nicky X
Editor and publisher

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Why are you taking this break?

Issue 23 marks six years of publication, five as Kookie and now a year as Youkie. Through it all we’ve worked to give readers a bigger, brighter view of the world and their place in it, and we’ve cherished every moment.

Although the publishing dream is still alive, the past six years have been very full. Youkie is a tiny operation (that’s partly how we create our kind of magic), and the continuous quarterly print cycle is leaving little opportunity to prepare ahead, reflect or rest.

Pausing will allow us to reset and continue in a micro but mightier form.

Weren’t you called Kookie?

That’s right. Before Youkie, there was Kookie, launched in December 2017.

Kookie (as in, cookie) was created to meet the needs of one under-served audience in particular: preteen girls who want (and deserve) a magazine that provides a rounded and optimistic sense of who they are and what they could become. It was the kind of magazine we wished we had growing up – and couldn’t believe still wasn’t widely available today.

After publishing our beloved Kookie for five years, it was time to shake things up. The world keeps changing, and so must we. Our publication was girl-led, but anyone could read it – and many boys did too. In fact, we think reading about girls in challenging, creative and leading roles is good for everyone!

So we took the next obvious step, making sure all kids felt included by giving all kids presence on the page. We also changed our name to mark this new chapter, releasing issue 20 as Youkie in September 2022.

So Youkie is for girls and boys?

Yes! Youkie is created for ages 8 to 12+, offering all kids a bigger, brighter view of the world and their place in it.

We know girls don’t just want to be pretty in pink. Well boys aren’t just interested in blowing up aliens either. Preteens are complex and we stand with youth, who are leading the way in challenging these narrow types.

Kookie was determined to do better for a new generation of girls, and that hasn’t changed. Now Youkie celebrates everything a kid can be.

Why print?

Youkie is proudly print because kids love interacting with a physical magazine – receiving it in the post, colouring in pictures, filling out quizzes, reading stories on the page – all without a charger in sight.

Where’s the advertising?

There isn’t any. Just 52+ pages of inspiring, informative and, most of all, FUN content – with no ads at all.

Can I contribute to Youkie?

We LOVE hearing from readers. If you’re aged 8 to 12-ish and like to write, draw or take photographs, or have something special to say – about absolutely anything! – drop us a line via email:

hello@youkiemag.com

Or post a letter:

Youkie mag
Gadigal Country
PO Box 1459
Potts Point NSW 1335
AUSTRALIA

And remember … please include your FULL NAME, AGE and MAILING ADDRESS, and always send your letters in a sealed envelope. We might share submissions, including personal photos, on our website and social media. Hard copies cannot be returned.

Want to know more?

Just ask 🙂