Pushing Out the Boat
- probably the best regional literary magazine in Scotland,
- high quality writing, with a unique blend of the local and the global.
- a thrilling place to be published alongside writers and artists from around the world
Duncan McLean
. . . sharp-eyed, open minded . . . helping to launch the careers of many new writers and to publish high quality work by established writers
John Aberdein
Seafaring and mindfaring are vital to our city: more power to the elbows of those who push out this handsome vessel.
Magi Gibson
. . . a fantastic and quality showpiece for art and new literature from the North East of Scotland
Shane Strachan
a visual feast across beautiful artworks and well-crafted images of language which has much to be savoured throughout.
Isobel Murray
Its standards remain exceptionally high, and format makes it a delight to handle
Mindy Grewar
I find that if you tap the covers, Pushing Out the Boat becomes a Marauders Map and Phrasebook, indispensable for sojourns in this space of sea and peak, couth and cheek…
Tom Hammick
... a fantastic magazine ... essential for highlighting and enriching local culture. I’m a huge fan of literary publications and the work within POTB is of such high standard.
Wayne Price
... more than just another literary magazine ... its 14 issues comprise an extraordinary and beautifully produced treasure house of new writing and art.
Christine de Luca
. . . it continues to delight in its eclectic range of literary and visual contributions and in the care with which it is produced
Esther Woolfson
It has expanded its horizons while maintaining the tone and savour of place which has always made it unique.
J Graeme Roberts
…a high quality magazine like Pushing Out the Boat encourages and enables North-East writers and artists to bring their best work to the attention of a wide and discerning audience…
Alan Spence
Well-produced, nicely balanced... one of the most attractive magazines of its kind in Scotland, providing an important forum for new poetry and prose
Our next issue – coming very soon
Issue 18 is with the printer and scheduled to be launched on 18 May. Tickets are now available for the launch event.
Our current issue
Pushing Out the Boat Issue 17 was launched in May 2023 and is jam-packed with a hundred pages of wonderful stories, poems and art by writers and artists not only from our ‘home turf’ but from across Scotland and the UK and as far afield as Germany, Netherlands and the USA.
In his generous foreword to the magazine, the National Library of Scotland’s Scots Scriever, Shane Strachan, describes this edition of Pushing Out the Boat as ‘one of the strongest issues yet … a visual feast across beautiful artworks and well-crafted images of language which has much to be savoured throughout,’ and who are we to disagree?
Click on the cover image to take a peek into the magazine – read Shane’s foreword, view the Contents page, sample some extracts and browse through a photo gallery of the art that appears within. Perhaps you will be inspired to submit to Issue 18.
Copies of Issue 17 can be ordered here for postal delivery or purchased from one of our retail outlets.
Our Magazines
The first issue of Pushing Out the Boat was published in the year 2000, since when there have been a sequence high quality magazines leading up to our latest publication. You can read about how we work, who we are and how the magazines are produced on the About POTB page and the full back catalogue of magazines can be viewed on Our Magazines page.
Our current edition is POTB Issue 17. Within its pages you will find humour, pathos and drama in Doric, Scots and English, along with stimulating works of art. There’s a rich variety of theme and style from the contributing authors, poets and artists – with a mixture of new voices along with more familiar names.
Issue 17 can be purchased from our retail outlets or ordered from our online store.
After looking at Issue 17, why not browse through other editions of the magazine. Online versions of Issues 9 – 16 can be read in full and sample extracts from Issues 6 – 8 offer a flavour of earlier editions. Then visit our online shop where all editions of the magazine are available for purchase.
Donations
POTB is an entirely voluntary and not-for-profit enterprise. The costs of producing this beautiful magazine are met by magazine sales, fund-raising events and donations. Any contributions, however small, are hugely appreciated and will help keep us afloat. Use the button below to donate via PayPal.
Step on board
The POTB Blog
- Gail Riekie, 1958 – 2024 (Roger White and Aenea Reid, 30 Jan 2025)
- Wee Gaitherin Heritage Exhibition (Webmaster, 15 Nov 2024)
- Writing Creatively about the Sea (Blair Center, 30 Aug 2024)
- Meet the Panellists (Naomi Greenwood, 23 Aug 2024)
- The Power of the Sea, the Power of Words (Roger White, 10 Aug 2024)
- Introducing the new editor, Peter Burnett (Peter Burnett, 17 May 2024)
- Pushing Out the Boat all the way to Stirling (Naomi Greenwood, 13 Apr 2024)
News
- Check out our Useful Links page for literary organisations, publications, events and POTB contributors.
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