The Brooklyn Bird Bugle
The Brooklyn Bird Bugle newspaper
I founded The Brooklyn Bird Bugle, a free online and printed fictional “newspaper” written “BY birds, FOR birds” that addressed environmental and cultural issues in Brooklyn, New York. This humorous hyperlocal storytelling project explored inter-species engagement and empathy through the narrative voice of wildlife.
The newspaper ran during the COVID pandemic, in collaboration with published writers, and fostered creative writing input from local children via story suggestions and “letters to the editor”. While the paper was written from the perspective of birds in Brooklyn, it included interviews with real human including an expert at the National Audubon Society. It covered themes like climate change and its effect on food availability, health and safety threats, and migratory challenges.
“This is like the best newspaper ever! I love the termite’s perspective.”
Printed newspapers were left in local newsstands and neighborhood outdoor library boxes. Young readers also distributed them to their friends. Promotional posters were distributed on local telephone poles. Online versions of the magazines were available, and there was a mailing list and social media presence.
Fiona Carswell. The Brooklyn Bird Bugle, 2021-2022. Online and print magazines.