Joseph Phelan
The Big IssueJoe is a feature writer, journalist and editor based in north London. His work spans a wide range of subjects, from food insecurity and mega-hurricanes to the plastisphere and the growth of extreme sports in Greenland. He has also written extensively on mental health, with a particular focus on the benefits of green and blue spaces, especially the UK’s canal network. His work has appeared in the BBC, National Geographic, the Big Issue, The Observer and Scientific American, among other publications. He lives in north London with his cat, Harris.
His shortlisted pieces were:
Joseph Phelan’s article in the Big Issue was a very interesting piece, and very good to read, because it was a little bit different. The combination of a story about veterans living on the canals, with a focus on solutions, made it an innovative story.
– Mel Young, Judge, The Orwell Prize for Reporting Homelessness 2026
