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 Greece to Australia – tell us, in their own words, what a street paper is, personally to them.

Vendors from The Big Issue Australia were tasked with writing letters of advice and wisdom to their younger selves in a twist on the long-running street paper feature.

The lives of millions of people around the world were transformed when countries shut down in an attempt to halt the spread of coronavirus. For Big Issue vendor Mark, who is based in Adelaide, Australia, lockdown was spent fending off boredom, watching TV, talking to friends and family on the phone and dealing with… pigeons.

From her pitch in Melbourne, The Big Issue Australia’s Mariann B watches the city become deserted, and the streets fall silent as coronavirus forces everyone into lockdown.

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.

This latest COVID-19 dispatch is from Australia, where like most places across the world, there is a cognitive dissonance when it comes to being urged to stay at home when, in fact, you don’t have a home to go to.

Find out what cover stories have been making a splash on the streets around the world this month.

The Big Issue has been reaching out to vendors across the street paper network to get the inside scoop on the cities they know best. This instalment features Big Issue Australia vendor Pat talking about Bangkok in Thailand, her home country. She sells the street paper in Perth, Western Australia.

Each year, one of the most trusted and oft replicated #VendorWeek events is a ‘Big Sell’, which brings together notable names and vendors to share in the experience of selling a street paper. In Australia, The Big Issue asks business leaders and entrepreneurs to become vendors for the week, and this year is no different.

For The Big Issue Australia’s #VendorWeek edition, vendors from all over Australia offered words of advice, hard-won wisdom and love to their teenaged selves.

As fires continue to burn a path through the Australian bush, claiming lives and homes and displacing communities, those who are homeless have few, if any, options to escape the smoke. Two Big Issue Australia vendors give first-hand accounts of the impact of the devastation.

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. 41-year-old Daryl is today’s vendor, who actually started selling the street paper not long after he turned 25. It has had a big impact on his life.

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

We’ve rounded up the best of the street paper covers we’ve seen being sold on the streets this September.

Keira sells The Big Issue from her pitch at Miranda train station, Sydney. She has been working for The Big Issue since leaving school and is grateful for the community that exists among those working for the paper. Keira has been a wheelchair user since having an operation to remove a brain stem tumour when she was eight and has been a long-time advocate for those who use wheelchairs. She views her work as a vendor as another important aspect of her efforts to increase awareness.

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

Representing INSP at the 2019 Homeless World Cup, Tony Inglis had a day to take in as much of the tournament as possible. With a number of the national teams represented being affiliated with street papers in their respective countries, he took it upon himself to ensure that he supported them all at least once over the course of the day. It presented an intriguing match clash which happened to bring out the best in what the event has to offer – fair play, camaraderie, friendship and excellent football.

Here’s our round-up of the bold, bright and beautiful covers being sold on the streets this July.

Meet the new Street Socceroos! Eight of the fittest and finest Big Issue Street Soccer stars are representing Australia in the 17th annual Homeless World Cup. They’re in Cardiff, Wales, where they are competing against 50 other nations. For some, it’s their first time overseas. For all, it will be a life-changing experience.

Street paper vendors have been giving the inside scoop on the cities they know best. Here, The Big Issue Australia vendor Mark talks about the Gold Coast.

We recently crowned the winner of our People’s Cover Award – find out who took home the top prize, and take a look at the other covers making a splash and being sold by our vendors around the world.

Our picture gallery of the 2019 INSP Awards. Relive the highlights!

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.

Today we’re bringing you the penultimate set of 2019 INSP Awards Finalists, with the Top 5 entries in Best Campaign.

Street paper vendors have been giving the inside scoop on the cities they know best. Here, The Big Issue Australia vendor Malcolm talks about Perth.

With a little over one week to go until we’re crowning our INSP Awards 2019 winners, today we’re unveiling the Finalists in one of our new categories for this year – Best Special Edition.

The Best Vendor Contribution Award recognises the top contribution to a street paper by their vendors. Here are the Top 5 Finalists for 2019.

As the 2019 INSP Awards draws closer, we’re bringing you the Finalists in each category over this week and next, and we’re continuing today by announcing the Top 5 Entries for Best Cultural Feature.