The New Issue: Issue 4

From the Big Issue North stable, The New Issue contains real stories - beautifully told. It offers stunning photography combined with quality writing, covering everything from changing landscapes and social issues to lifestyle and fiction.

The 80-page magazine, printed on high quality stock, is a publication for good, dedicating all its profits to creating opportunities for people who have the least.

All profits from The New Issue go to supporting vendors of Big Issue North, helping them overcome barriers to employment and find secure accommodation.

If you enjoy this issue, be sure to subscribe for just £40 a year by clicking here.

An aquatic theme flows through the pages of this issue. Billy Briggs and Angela Catlin bring us a story of Scottish water warfare and, as their quiet revolutions gain traction, Roger Ratcliffe lures us in deeper still with the hypnotic vibrations of the wind turbines off the coast of Grimsby.

Lisa Blower, an author we much admire, contributes an original short story under the beautiful title Don’t Let The Sea Catch You Crying, and it almost feels too easy to embrace the alien touch of their tentacles and let Sy Montgomery’s octopuses pull us into their watery depths.

The outlook of The New Issue is not constrained by borders and we look over the horizon to the most cosmopolitan of all islands, Manhattan, where we find artists from across the globe living and working side by side, and to Senegal, where the tide is turning for female surfers in traditional coastal communities.

We then return to Manchester. Normally a familiar fixture selling the magazine in the city centre, in this issue we visit Colin at home, where he tries to fill the long days. There are many lessons we can take from him, and many others between these pages. After a year where it’s been difficult at times to keep our heads above water, we hope you’ll continue to cheer us on.