Another year? Get used to it!

Here’s how you know another year has passed. You find yourself hesitating before writing a date on something: two thousand and…what? (It’s one reason cheques are increasingly rare – people muck up the year for most of January.) Second, you’re no longer sure which decade is called ‘the noughties’ (or was that a music-hall show?) and all the fuss about the Y2K Bug seems like a long time ago. Third, you’re putting up a …

Our fiction edition is coming out in less than two weeks and we’ll be holding a launch event on August 30 at Readings in St Kilda. Novelist Toni Jordan will do the official launching business and writers Chris Womersley, Nic Low and Laura Jean McKay will be reading excepts of their fiction edition stories. Come along and trade air kisses with us! For a full list of the selected writers and more details on the launch, see …

Did you know Big Issue illustrators sometimes hold court on expert panels at fancy design events? Well, they do. Michel Streich, who created the poignant cover image and inside illustrations for our special report on Australia’s housing crisis (‘Home Truths’ Ed#386), will be on the panel for tonight’s Enmore Talks event as part of Sydney Design 2011. He’ll be joining some other super-stylish designy types to talk about using traditional design techniques in contemporary contexts.

Apart from illustrating for The …

It was difficult. So many amazing submissions came in for this year’s Big Issue fiction edition. But co-editors Jo Case and Melissa Cranenburgh finally managed to pare down 200 submissions to the final six.

The authors selected in the open submissions category are: Laura Jean McKay, Nic Low, Josephine Rowe, Krissy Kneen, Catherine Harris and Emma Schwarcz. The edition will also feature commissioned stories from Frank Moorhouse, Nick Earls, Charlotte Wood, Chris Womersley, Peggy Frew and Amanda Lohrey.

With a whopping 16 extra …

Everyone has to be nice to you on your birthday, so it’s important to stretch out birthday festivities for as long as possible. The Big Issue’s 15th birthday is a superb case study in celebration-stretching: we (officially) partied for three whole weeks! The most recent celebration took place in the capital last week – when more than 100 people came along to celebrate The Big Issue’s Canberra operations with 23 current and past vendors at the ACT Legislative Assembly …

Students from Endeavour Hills Secondary College in Melbourne have released a song to raise awareness about homelessness. The Year 7 students penned the song after visiting The Big Issue office last month. The visit was part of a new subject at the school called ‘community’ , which encourages students to focus on a social cause.

“Our class visited The Big Issue Classroom and were inspired to really make a difference and spread the message about what they learned about homelessness,” teacher Kirsty Letts said.

“They …

THE BIG ISSUE TURNS 15

Having helped thousands of Australians who have experienced homelessness get back on their feet, The Big Issue today celebrates its 15th anniversary.

CEO Steven Persson said the occasion marked a major milestone for the country’s largest and most successful social enterprise.

“The Big Issue has changed the lives of thousands of homeless and marginalised men and women by giving them the chance to earn an income and reconnect with the community,” Mr Persson said.

The social enterprise started with a street magazine, which was …

How much truth is there to the stereotype of the weak vegetarian crusading for animal rights and occasionally fainting from lack of iron? Rebecca Butterworth debunks the myths about a plant-based diet.

Also in this issue:

As the world turns to digital cameras, photojournalist Steve McCurry takes the last roll of Kodachrome slide film on a farewell tour; Anna Krien talks to author Jay Griffiths about her fictionalised retelling of the passionate life of Frida Kahlo; after grappling with literary …