Third national lockdown devastates Big Issue North vendors

With a third of vendors currently homeless and the remainder vulnerably housed, half a year out of work is utterly devastating.

On the 23rd of March, the anniversary of the beginning of England’s first lockdown, Big Issue North vendors will be struggling through their twenty-sixth week unable to work over the course of a year.

Big Issue North vendors are self-employed, buying magazines from offices around the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber for £1.50 and selling them on for £3. With a third of vendors currently homeless and the remainder vulnerably housed, half a year out of work is utterly devastating.

When the first lockdown began, Big Issue North set up a hardship fund to provide vendors with financial aid while they were unable to work. With the help of generous donations from the public, we were able to support many vendors with small pay-outs in lieu of the money they would normally make selling the magazine, but now the fund has started to dwindle, and staff have had to prioritise who gets support. This is a heart-breaking situation, but you can help.

Here are five things that you can do today:

On Saturday 6th March at 6:30pm, Fish Flash Fiction Prize shortlisted and Bath Flash Fiction Award and Reflex Fiction Award longlisted writer Leonie Rowland is also holding a virtual launch for her debut short story collection, In Bed With Melon Bread, to raise money for the Big Issue North Trust.

With work described as "sharp, ominous", "wonderfully disquieting", "beautifully told, intriguing stories" and the product of “exceptional talent” previously published by Ad Hoc Fiction, The Cabinet of Heed, FlashFlood Journal, Reflex Press, Emerge Journal and more, In Bed With Melon Bread, published by Dreich, is Rowland's first independent collection. Her previous writing is available to read at www.leonierowland.com.

The event will be free to attend, with the option to donate during proceedings, but registration is essential. Sign up at also recently launched The Hungry Ghost Project, “a small press that publishes flash fiction and creative non-fiction on the topics of food, hauntings, memory and consumption.”

The Hungry Ghost Project is currently open for submissions until 1st May 2021 for its first issue, which will be published in physical form. Submissions are free and each contributor will receive a payment of £5 on publication, with all further profits going to the Big Issue North Trust.

To find out more or to submit work for consideration, go to hungryghostproject.com.