Editor Jen Yockney Frequency Bimonthly Country United Kingdom | Categories Bisexual First issue October 1995 Language English | |
Bi Community News (commonly shortened to BCN) is the United Kingdom's only magazine serving the bisexual population. It is published bimonthly and includes many articles reflecting bisexual life and media representation as well as news from the bisexual community.
Contents
Resulting from a workshop at the UK BiCon in 1995, it started as a zine and has been consistently published since October 1995. The current editor is Jen Yockney.
Previous UK bisexual journals were BiFrost (1991–1995) and Bi Monthly in the 1980s.
Side publications
In 2001 BCN published "An A-Z of Bi Group Running", a resource for helping build local community support. It was written by Jen Yockney based on five years of organising Manchester-based bisexual community group BiPhoria and BiCon workshops about bi group organising.
In 2007 BCN published "Both Directions", a 20-page guide to the UK bisexual scene and its history, as well as bi books, films and other resources. Further editions were published each year until 2011 when BiPhoria published "Getting Bi In A Gay / Straight World". BCN's website recommended that over their own Both Directions title as more accessible.
Awards
BCN was shortlisted for Community Group or Organisation of the Year in the 2011 Homo Hero Awards, alongside Outdoor Lads and the Albert Kennedy Trust.
Community engagement
Because of its community newsletter roots the magazine has strong links with the grassroots bisexual community. It acts as postal box address for local bi groups without their own secure mail facilities, maintains the Bi Local Groups Network, and hosted several UK Bi Activist Weekends bringing together volunteers running bisexual community organisations around the UK.
The magazine's web server also hosts the international website for Bi Visibility Day, bivisibilityday.com/.