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Healing with the Heelers

“I had someone who works in foster care say, ‘This show is probably the only example that some kids have of a functioning family,’” says Melanie Zanetti, better known as the voice of Bluey’s mum Chilli on what is arguably Australia’s most successful TV show.

With the Heeler family set to unleash their biggest episode yet, we had a chinwag with Zanetti, plus Bluey’s executive producer Daley Pearson, about their favourite episodes, the healing power of play, and the little dog’s quest to take over the world from Brisbane, one heart at a time.

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Fiction Edition coming soon

Our much-anticipated 17th annual Fiction Edition has been delayed until February 2022. “Oh no!” we hear you cry. “But it’s my favourite edition!” Well, it’s one of ours, too. We made this decision to ensure all vendors, all around the country, were out of COVID lockdown and able to sell this very special edition to you! After all, we wouldn’t want anyone missing out.

The bumper 64-page magazine will, as always, showcase the literary talents of established and emerging Australian writers. This year, we received almost 700 short stories (692 to be exact!) through our open submissions call-out. Thanks to our judges Thuy On and Declan Fry, we will be bringing you a fantastic collection of short stories, available from your Big Issue vendor from 4 February, 2022.

If you don’t have a vendor selling near you, you can subscribe to The Big Issue, and have the Fiction Edition arrive directly to your door.

The Fiction Edition is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund. Stay tuned for the announcement of the featured writers! Good reads come to those who wait.

Meet the Fiction Edition judges

Thuy On

Thuy On is Reviews Editor of Artshub (and a former Books Editor of The Big Issue). She’s an arts journalist, critic and poet. Her first book, a collection of poetry called Turbulence, was published in 2020 by UWAP. She’s written for a wide range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Age/SMH, The Australian, Books+Publishing and Australian Book Review.

Thuy is a well lit street, looking at the camera.
Photo by Brett Rawlings.

Declan Fry

Born on Wongatha country in Kalgoorlie, Declan Fry has written for The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Overland, Australian Book Review, Liminal, Sydney Review of Books, Cordite, Kill Your Darlings, Westerly and elsewhere. His Meanjin essay “Justice for Elijah or a Spiritual Dialogue With Ziggy Ramo, Dancing” received the 2021 Peter Blazey Fellowship. He has been shortlisted for the Judith Wright Poetry Prize. He lives on unceded Wurundjeri country with his partner and their cat, Turnip.

Declan looking directly at camera in front of a grey house.