Megaphone storytellers and vendors of all street papers, including the writers featured in the pages of this Vancouver and Victoria street paper’s Voices of the Street literary anthology, regularly face a host of challenges, all linked to the inequities that come from living in poverty. When Megaphone hosted a series of writing workshops earlier this year, it became clear what was of great importance to participants: our environmentally distressed planet. As a result, the pages of the new edition of Voices of the Street (Stealing Looks at the Sun: Writing About Climate Change in 2022), which is on sale now, are packed full of prose driven by the growing impacts of climate change.

Put on the elastic pants and serve up a Megaphone meal using vendor recipes sourced from their food memories.

Everyone who is a part of the global street paper network knows what a street paper is – that extends to the staff that put each publication together and those who buy them. But the people who truly know what a street paper is – what it means – are those who sell them. Here, a collection of street paper vendors – from North Macedonia to Canada – tell us, in their own words, what a street paper is, personally to them.

With Covid vaccines being rolled out differently across the world, that means marginalised and vulnerable communities in different parts of the world are receiving immunisation at different rates. But it does mean some good news: street paper vendors are beginning to receive the jab, and with the world opening up again, that’s more than welcome.

The Big Issue took stock of how coronavirus is affecting the world’s homeless community, providing another update on just how severely the spread of the virus is impacting street papers and the people for which they provide an income.

To mark the end of INSP’s 25th anniversary year, we have been asking vendors across the street paper network to write a letter to their 25-year-old self. Megaphone vendor Stephen explains why being 25 was the best year of his life.

What’s been making the front pages of street papers during the past month?

Sue is a 50-year-old Tla’amin woman whose delicate frame belies her personal strength and great stature within her community. She has endured numerous personal losses and has responded to these tragedies with resilience and growth while, within her community, she is known for helping others finds strength by supporting those around her.

Fiction, food, festivals and fun – here’s our round-up of street papers covers this month.

The Bear Whisperer is a vendor who sells Megaphone, the Hope in Shadows calendar and Voices of the Street literary anthology in downtown Vancouver. This is a story of his travelling days, hard work and journey to British Columbia – the province where he found the opportunities that changed his life.

Richard Gerrard has been selling street papers in Victoria since 2007 and became a Megaphone vendor in 2014. As well as enjoying his Saturday shifts selling the paper from his pitch outside the Bay Centre on Douglas Street, Victoria, Gerrard enjoys creating things, history and the occasional sweet treat.

The winners of the 2019 INSP Awards have been revealed at the official Awards Ceremony, as part of the Global Street Paper Summit in Hannover, Germany.

Dr. Naheed Dosani is among a growing number of health care practitioners working to bring palliative care to those living on the margins. Megaphone spoke with Dosani, and others leading this initiative, as well as the individuals, and their families, it has helped. Last night at the 2019 INSP Awards, this piece won Best News Feature. Now, you can read it in full.

As the excitement continues to build for the 2019 INSP Awards, we will be announcing the Finalists in each category over the next fortnight – starting today with the Top 5 Entries for Best News Feature.

For winning photographer Buffie Irvine, the Hope in Shadows project became more than a photo contest. She has been a Megaphone vendor for eight years and her father for 14. When customers realise the family connection, they start talking to her and it makes her feel close to her community. The Hope in Shadows photography project made her feel close to something else; something that she loved. Her Dad.

Say cheese…it’s time for us to announce the Best Photograph Nominees for the INSP Awards 2019!

We’re delighted to reveal the first set of nominees for the INSP Awards 2019 today, and we’re kicking off with the Top 10 Entries for Best News Feature.

Megaphone celebrates the festive season by profiling a few of their hard-working vendors, who pass along a message to their valued customers.

This year we asked vendors: if you could give a song as a present this Christmas, what would you choose? The result was the INSP Vendor Playlist, which is now available for your listening pleasure. Megaphone vendors talk about the songs they selected.

A mom of two kids and two cats, Julie “Jewel” Chapman would take everyone under her wing for protection if she could. Her altruistic activism fuels her work within the Downtown Eastside community of Vancouver, where she is a support worker for sex workers and those struggling with addiction. Despite some people’s negative attitude towards the DTES, Jewel feels that her neighbourhood is a wonderful community full of hope.

When we hear from vendors, it is usually to learn more about their experiences with homelessness and how working as a street paper seller has helped them. But vendors do all sorts of outstanding, inspiring things that we might not know about. Gerald “Spike” Peachey aims to use all of his experiences from the streets to help build a city where everyone can live their best lives by running for councillor in Vancouver’s civic election later this month. He sets out the reasons why the people in his district should vote for him.

This month saw the 2018 Global Street Paper Summit return to INSP’s home city of Glasgow, and our golden annual opportunity to replenish the street paper archive and get up close and personal with covers from around the world.

Our penultimate set of Finalists to announce for the 2018 INSP Awards is in the Best Project category.

As we approach the halfway mark in 2018, take a look back at the covers on sale on the streets of the world this month.

“I’m your sister and I walk with you,” says Suzanne Kilroy, as she discusses the importance of National Aboriginal Day, which is today. Here, she talks about the significance of the celebration, and the feelings of kinship with others and pride in her heritage that the day inspires in her.

We’re continuing with our 2018 INSP Awards announcements, and today we’re revealing the Top 10 Entries for Best Cultural Feature.

We’re delighted to announce the first set of nominees for the INSP Awards 2018 today, and we’re kicking off with the Top 10 Entries for Best News Feature.

In a piece written for the fall edition of Megaphone’s Community Journalism 101 workshop, Peter Thompson discusses his love of food. In particular, he writes about bannock – his personal favourite – and shares an anecdote about how, during his childhood, he learned how to smoke fish.

April has showered us with a flow of fantastic front pages, and we’ve splattered the very best onto this month’s covers round-up!

This month, Canadian street paper Megaphone, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, but has stretched its patch to include Victoria, turned 10 years old. In this retrospective piece, individuals involved with the street paper, from founding members, to editors, to vendors, look back on the magazine’s decade long life so far.

Vancouver vendor Priscillia Tait took the winning cover photo of the 2018 Hope in Shadows calendar. Here, she talks about the setting she chose for the photograph, as well as her family, growing up in an Indigenous community and her experience of homelessness.

In honour of #VendorWeek 2018, Megaphone vendor James Witwicki and L’Itinéraire vendor Yvon Massicotte had a ‘face-to-face’ interview to swap experiences of how both wound up selling street papers.

Ahead of this year’s #VendorWeek celebration, Canadian street paper Megaphone announced their Vendor of the Year – Craig Baron (who was also recently featured in our Vendor Moments series). Here, he tells us about his life and what it’s like being a Megaphone vendor. Celebrating our vendors is what #VendorWeek is all about.

Today, North American street papers will join in with the #VendorWeek celebrations by hosting selling events, some for the first time. This #VendorWeek tradition is a chance for those unfamiliar with the street paper movement to understand better what street paper vendors do.

The decorations are packed away, resolutions have been made (and already broken!), and the dieting has begun. This can only mean one thing…a new year – and a new batch of street paper covers – is upon us!

Vendors from Vancouver, Canada street paper Megaphone share with us their thoughts on the past year, as well as what it’s like working as a street paper vendor around Christmas time.

With Christmas just around the corner, street papers around the world have been getting into the Yuletide spirit and emblazoning their front covers with all things festive!

The witching hour is upon us, and has conjured up a month of frighteningly good covers to keep the spectres at bay.

Richard Gerrard has been selling street papers for almost a decade and has benefited greatly from being a vendor. In his spare time, he revels in the outdoors and exercises his artistic eye through photography.

Six impressive campaigns from our street papers have made it as finalists – time to find out all about them.

June has been and gone in a flash – but we’ve taken time to stop and look back on a superb month of street paper covers.

Our snap-happy street papers have offered up hundreds of impressive images this year, and we’ve got the top ten all developed and ready to go!

Between Halloween and Trump, there’s a frighteneing vibe on this month’s international street paper covers. Thank god for Street Cat Bob…

Megaphone vendor Mark Irvine says at 65 his new life goal is ‘learning how to live’, after a troubled past involving problems with drugs and alcohol, and time in prison.

Norah Winnifred Parlett was a spy in WWII, and a the main breadwinner for her five kids. Her son, Megaphone vendor Bob, talks about their complicated history and the love they share.

As Megaphone boss Sean Condon says goodbye to the street paper network, he tells us what he’s learned from 10 years at the Vancouver magazine. A behind-the-scenes must-read for street paper fans. 

In a challenging and revealing interview with Megaphone vendors, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps pledges to balance the voices of homeless people with property developers – and discloses her favourite way to relax.

“After seven years of being homeless, I can see firsthand why everything is a mess – which inspired me to write this article.” Megaphone vendor Ron McGrath invites us all to solve homelessness together.

A gloriumptious look at the world of Roald Dahl, a red-haired mischief-maker, a mafia flower plot and Yanis Varoufakis at the INSP Summit… explore June’s street paper covers.