New anthology rewrites the story of homelessness

Writers with lived experience of hardship have united for a groundbreaking new anthology aiming to reshape perceptions of homelessness and poverty.

More Than One Story, curated by the arts and social justice charity Cardboard Citizens, brings together 37 emerging and established writers to share rarely-heard tales from the front line of adversity.

“When we asked for the voices of More Than One Story, we weren’t sure who would answer,” said Cardboard Citizens CEO Chris Sonnex. “What we received was a chorus – voices from every corner of the UK, carrying truths shaped by poverty and homelessness, by resilience, by love, by survival, joy, and rage.”

The collection builds on the charity’s acclaimed 2024 short film series with the Big Issue, which showcased nine monologues from new scribes.

An open call-out drew 135 submissions. Members of Cardboard Citizens – many of whom have experienced housing insecurity and poverty – were trained to join industry professionals in reading and critiquing the work.

Twenty-two stories were selected and later published alongside original commissions from established authors and playwrights, as well as the monologues from Cardboard Citizens’ flm series. Contributors include former children’s laureate Malorie Blackman, Olivier Award-winner Chris Bush and the T.S. Eliot Prize-winning poet Joelle Taylor.

Despite its bleak context, Sonnex, who has his own experiences of homelessness, said the book was far from unrelentingly gloomy. Many of the monologues crackle with humour, defiance and hope, he said. “It isn’t a book of ‘woe is me’,” he explains. “When you’ve had that lived experience you can take it with some jest, because it becomes a coping mechanism.

“There’s a humanising factor here; instead of being a statistic, you’re a flawed or funny or whatever actual human. That’s what I think will change the idea of what it means to be homeless, or to come from poverty.”

Instead of being a statistic, you’re a flawed or funny actual human

Sonnex said he now hopes the book will serve as a calling card for the wider arts and entertainment industries to broaden their search for new talent.

“As you go through trauma, you don’t necessarily believe you should be taking up those spaces,” he said. “If you look at the percentage of people from working-class backgrounds in the creative and cultural industries, it’s something like 8%.”

“This book says, look at these brilliant writers, look at the breadth of their backgrounds. Anybody could look at it and hire any of those writers to write a play or a TV programme, or to take a risk on them, their talent is clear.”

Photography by Piers Allardyce