Issue 1433

Radical and gently revolutionary
Like the men who make crop circles in his new novel, Benjamin Myers is trespassing on the literary mainstream. Antonia Charlesworth visits him at home in Hebden Bridge and finds an author by turns brutal and bucolic – and increasingly willing to surprise his readers. Photos: Rebecca Lupton.

‘My emotions ranged from total numbness to relief’
A walk to a petrol station seemed to lead to the only way out for Dominic Barrett after a life of homelessness and mental health concerns. But as he recalls in this powerful and moving piece, that was only the first horrific part of a longer journey towards a real resolution.

Intensified threat of famine in East Africa
Minister for Africa Vicky Ford tells Big Issue North the UK is still taking a leadership role in the humanitarian effort in East Africa despite claims this is no longer the case.

Plus
Arts and entertainment, columnist Roger Ratcliffe on extreme southernness, Angela Scanlon’s letter to her younger self - and much more.