Push the Boat Out

Push the Boat Out, Edinburgh’s international poetry festival, returns this November with four days of extraordinary poetry, performance, conversation, music and boundary-pushing new work.

This year’s festival explores The Space Between – the places where people, ideas, identities and artforms meet, and the possibilities that emerge in moments of transition, connection and change.

Our 2026 programme brings together brilliant voices from Scotland and around the world, including Jackie Kay, Luke Wright, Anthony Joseph, Joelle Taylor, Henry Normal, Naomi Shihab Nye, Dean Atta, Kirsty Logan, JL Williams, Scotland’s Makar Peter Mackay, Sarah Howe, Lorna Goodison, Joseph Coelho, Nick Makoha, Karen Solie, Kwame Dawes, Don Mee Choi, Hannah Lavery, Bee Asha, EmmaClaire Brightlyn and Kim Moore, among many many more.

At the heart of the festival are three brand-new poetry-led performance commissions created in association with the National Theatre of Scotland, bringing poetry into conversation with sound, film, performance and archive.

Across the weekend, discover intimate readings, lively discussions, workshops, cabaret, live music and genre-defying performances – with opportunities to listen, create, connect and experience poetry differently.

Find your space at Push the Boat Out 2026. Explore the full programme and book your tickets below.