About Pushing Out the Boat
Pushing Out the Boat is a high quality literary and arts journal, published every two years, following an open invitation to writers and artists to submit their work. Submissions are received from all around the world, 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
Our current issue (Issue 16) was published in the middle of the Covid pandemic. Rising to the challenges of carrying out selection, editing, design and publication without being able to meet in person, the team succeeded in producing a beautiful magazine, a well-needed lift to the spirits in difficult times.
Take a peek here where you’ll be able to read extracts and view the vibrant images.
Why we need your help
We need to raise money to recover from the impact of COVID, support the publication of our next issue in Spring 2023, and get our finances back into balance for the longer term.
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. Publishing during the pandemic, however, meant that we were unable to have our usual fund-raising launch and reading events. Our vendors were mostly closed or operating under severe restrictions, inhibiting over the counter sales of the magazine and cutting off that source of revenue too. Online sales continue but these alone are insufficient to meet the printing costs. Pushing Out the Boat is known for its high production values and we are keen to maintain this, to do justice to our wonderful writers and artists.
In the past, we have been assisted by grants from Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils but they too are facing depleted resources and Covid related hardship. So, taking a deep breath, we have decided to launch this crowdfunding appeal, asking for support from readers old and new, local and global, to help ensure the long-term 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
Walrus
To keep us amused and intrigued during the fund raising period, our former editor, Martin Walsh, has written a story which will be published in instalments on our website blog. Here’s a taster.
What happens next? Hop over to our website to find out.. Then keep an eye out on our social media pages for news of the next instalment.
As an extra thank-you for supporting the magazine, if you donate through one of our Rewards, your name will be entered into the draw for a signed copy of the original Walrus manuscript.
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.
Rewards
The publication of the next issue is dependent on our supporters. As a token of our gratitude, through our Reward system, your name will be listed on a special "Thank You" page printed in Issue 17. As an additional reward, you can request a copy of a current issue of the magazine or put your name on the list of those to whom we’ll send a complimentary copy of Issue 17 as soon as it is published.
And, as an added bonus, we will put your name into the hat for the chance to win a signed copy of the original Walrus manuscript, signed by the author, Martin Walsh.
Thank You
Thank you for your interest in Pushing Out the Boat. All donations and/or sharing on social media are greatly appreciated and will help secure the future of the magazine.