Pushing Out the Boat

Submissions to the magazine are received from far and wide, as well as from our own corner of North-East Scotland, resulting in a stimulating linguistic mix of English, Doric and Scots complemented by colourful and thought-provoking images.

We maintain a strong commitment to first time writers and artists; and to outreach, by supplying copies to worthy causes, local libraries and schools – the latter specially to encourage young contributors. We aspire to offer readers the very best regional literary magazine in Scotland.

Take a peek here to read extracts and view the vibrant images from Issue 16, our current issue, published in the middle of the Covid pandemic.

Why we need support

We receive no public funding, relying on sales, events and donations to keep us afloat and generate the funds required to print the next edition. During the Covid lockdowns of 2020/21 we were unable to have our usual fund-raising launch and reading events and our retail vendors were closed or operating under severe restrictions. We found ourselves with an urgent need to raise money, to recover from the impact of pandemic and enable the publication of our next issue in Spring 2023. So we joined Crowdfunder and launched a Fundraising Campaign in March 2022. The campaign was successful, raising sufficient funds to enable us to commit to publishing Issue 17.

But the need for support doesn't end there. In addition to printing costs, we have ongoing running costs for IT services, website maintenance, postage, publicity, etc to be met.  All donations are greatly appreciated and will help secure the future of the magazine. 

What writers and artists think of the magazine

‘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’ – Tom Hammick, artist

‘It continues to delight in its eclectic range of literary and visual contributions and in the care with which it is produced’ – Christine de Luca, poet

‘One of the most attractive magazines of its kind in Scotland, providing an important forum for new poetry and prose’ – Alan Spence, poet, novelist, short story writer and playwright

‘Literary magazines gain stature through longevity. Pushing the Boat Out … demonstrates brilliantly how and why’ – Esther Woolfson, nature writer

‘. . . sharp-eyed, open minded . . . helping to launch the careers of many new writers and to publish high quality work by established writers’ – Duncan McLean, novelist, short story writer and playwright

The team behind the magazine

Pushing Out the Boat is produced by a team of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers. The individual team members have the wide range of experience and skills relevant to the selection of material for publication, administration, design, production and promotion of a high-quality literary magazine. In recognition of this achievement, we were awarded charity status in 2014. To ensure variety and innovation, the members of our content selection panels, all experts in the fields of poetry, prose and art, respectively, serve for just two or three issues before stepping down to let other experts bring in a fresh perspective.

More details of our current team can be found here on our website.

Thank You

Thank you for your interest in Pushing Out the Boat. We hope you enjoy reading it. Copies of all issues of the magazine can be purchased online on our website and the current issue can be bought at a selection of retail outlets. All purchases and donations are extremely welcome as contributions to the financial security of the magazine.