The theme for this year’s fiction edition is ‘The End of the World’ and Franco has joined commissioned authors James Bradley, Margo Lanagan, Tony Birch, Sophie Cunningham and Wayne Macauley in addressing the topic. Another six stories were selected from more than 400 open entries to the magazine.

The Big Issue is a fortnightly, independent magazine that is sold by authorised vendors in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and regional Victoria. Vendors come from a range of backgrounds, including mental illness, homelessness, long-term unemployment, disability, drug and alcohol dependency and family breakdown. The magazine is sold for $5 and $2.50 of that goes into their pockets.

The annual fiction edition of The Big Issue is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

For more information, including where to get your copy and how to subscribe, visit The Big Issue website.

Item posted on 9 August 2012.