Heather Reid (and her dog, Flo!), Prose panellist

Heather Reid is similarly engrossed in the Arts, having heard about Pushing Out the Boat for the first time through the Soutar Writers Group. She has published fiction and poetry and has been highly placed in competitions such as the Neil Gunn Prize, the William Soutar Prize and the Scottish Arts Club short fiction prize, as well as being broadcast by the BBC. Heather admits she has a sneaking suspicion she was invited to join the prose panel to put a stop to her own constant submissions, having been published in the magazine several times before!

Eddie Gibbons, Poetry panellist

Retired Engineering designer and illustrator Eddie Gibbons has five published poetry collections. He was the inaugural chair of the Lemon Tree Writers and a founding member of Dead Good Poets, which morphed into Poetry at Books and Beans. Eddie has edited for several literary magazines and small presses, including Tapsalteerie. He was also published in Issue 1 of Pushing Out the Boat, and feels he is giving back to the magazine after its promotion of his work.

Anne Campbell, Art panellist

A photography teacher at Gray’s School of Art, Anne Campbell’s primary interests lie with analogue photo processes, because they “bring unique qualities to an image that aren’t always possible to replicate digitally”. Issue 18 marks Anne’s first time judging on a panel for Pushing Out the Boat, and we are delighted to welcome her to the team.

Bryan Angus, Art panellist

Bryan is a printmaker and painter based in Banff. It is also his first time as a panellist for Pushing Out the Boat. Most of his work involves interpreting landscape into pictures, but he also works in commercial illustration. Bryan is keen to add to the discussion and development of the visual art that we see around us – “visual literacy is often underrated in an age where we are bombarded with images,” he says.

Discussions with the panellists

Speaking on past experience, panellists agree on a key part of judging submissions, which is viewing them impartially. This is easy, of course, since every piece is viewed anonymously. “Whether I like it or not is irrelevant”, says Susie, echoed by Heather: “it may be in a style or genre that I wouldn’t usually prefer but if the writing is good, that’s what matters.” Anne refers to the “feel” of an image, which speaks to her most, though she is conscious too of the experimentation and craftsmanship necessary to produce a quality piece of art.

During the selection process, panellists meet in their groups to sift through submissions. “It evolves into a discussion with the other panel members where choices are compared, and ends with an agreed list of accepted titles,” explains Eddie.

While it can often be very difficult to decide which pieces go to publishing and which don’t, panellists agree they tend not to accept the cliched and sensationalised, but also the mediocre. Clearly, contributions hitting that sweet middle ground are the most successful. Art, poetry and prose are of course subjective, which is where the group element becomes helpful in reaching a general consensus.

From the horse’s mouth: panellist-approved tips for preparing work for submission

• Never submit work straight away. Leave it for as long as possible before coming back to it, and you are bound to find previously unnoticed mistakes.
• Seek advice from peers, other writers, or join a writers or artists group to gain skills. Critique from others is often a tough pill to swallow, but it can push you out of your comfort zone and ultimately push your art or writing to the next level.
• Look at other publications with artwork or illustrations in them, then look at your own work. The one you love most may not be the one that fits best into a magazine.
• Don’t be afraid of rejection – it happens to the best of us!

“Any platform that allows open entry and the opportunity to share work with a wider audience is affirming  – to have work printed in a charming, respected and established magazine is even more. Be skilful, be honest, be original – but never boring”, is Susie’s best advice. Heather states “the people involved in production are always friendly and supportive of the creativity of writers and artists.”

What’s more, if your work is selected for publication, you’ll be invited to attend our magazine launch, where we celebrate the latest issue with an opportunity for artists to showcase their work, and for writers to perform pieces. This is a great chance to speak to other artists and writers, as well as receive a free copy of the magazine with your work inside. Members of the Pushing Out the Boat team may be biassed, but we all agree it’s a valuable publication more than worthy of submitting to! Our panellists look forward to viewing your work!