Professional Development
Push the Boat Out is committed to supporting poets at all stages to develop their craft and their careers. Building on our popular Development Day, which has been running since 2022, this year we’ve added a second free day of discussions, workshops and support, the Sector Symposium. This is aimed at more established writers, while the Development Day remains focused on emerging and early career poets.
Both days are chock full of fascinating events, with a mixture of panel discussions, workshops and networking – as well as our 1:1 publisher surgeries at the Sector Symposium!
Both days are completely free to attend; you can book events individually but we’d encourage you to join us for the full day. Snacks, drinks and a light lunch will be provided to help you network and get to know your peers.
Feel free to mix and match between sessions and days or even come to both!
bursaries
We’re delighted this year to be able to offer bursaries of up to £50 to those who might not be able to otherwise be able to attend these two professional development days. Bursaries are granted on a no-questions-asked basis to anyone who has experience of socioeconomic barriers, for example: low income, poverty, extreme hardship, economic precarity, qualifying for income support (benefits or education grants), struggling to cover your bills or ‘make ends meet’. Bursaries will be paid upon invoice Monday 16 November.
Bursaries can be used to cover travel, care or childcare or access costs:
- A childcare or carer bursary provides £50 per day to help cover childcare or caring responsibilities while attending the festival. Please note: this payment counts as income for HMRC purposes.
- Travel bursaries provide up to £50 for travel costs to attend the festival. Please provide receipts and use public transport whenever possible. Taxis can only be claimed if required for disability access.
- Disability access bursaries provide up to £50 to help cover costs relating to accessibility to enable you attend the festival. Please note: this payment counts as income for HMRC purposes.
To apply for a bursary, we’ll ask you to complete a simple form. Bursary recipients will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. To give everyone a chance to plan, the application form for bursaries will be available on this page from Monday 12 October – please check back then to apply.
While we recognise that many people face multiple barriers to participation, the maximum bursary we can offer any individual is £50 in total which can be split across categories. If you require less than £50 any additional funds will remain in the pot to support more people to attend.
development day 12 november
Develop your practice with a day of free workshops and discussions for poets, spoken word artists and creative practitioners.
Join Dr Autumn Roesch-Marsh for a practical workshop on Working With Marginalised Groups; explore how spoken word can live beyond performance in Between and Beyond Stage and Page with Mark Gallie (I Am Loud), Charlie Roy (Stewed Rhubarb Press) and writer and artist Julie Laing; discover the opportunities available to emerging poets in Mentorship and Support, with Caitrin Armstrong (Scottish Book Trust), Jim Carruth (Clydebuilt Verse Apprenticeship Scheme) and Nick Makoha (Obsidian Foundation); before joining Helena Nelson (HappenStance Press) and poet Eleanor Livingstone for a hands-on workshop on Editing Your Own Work.
sector symposium 13 november
Take the next step in your writing career with a series of free discussions and workshops offering practical insight into publishing, rights and developing your work.
Meet the Publishers brings together John McAuliffe (Carcanet), Ghazal Mosadeq (Pamenar Press) and Edward Crossan (Birlinn) to demystify pitching, editing and the poet-publisher relationship. Get to grips with Contracts and Copyright with Amanda Holiday (Society of Authors), Duncan Lockerbie (Tapsalteerie) and intellectual property solicitor Anna Jaconelli.
We are also proud to offer our 1 to 1 Publishers Surgeries with representatives from Carcanet, Pamenar Press, Bilinn, Tapsalteerie and Art Riot Press. See the event page for how to book.
ConVERSE
We’re once again working in partnership with the University of Edinburgh’s School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures to present ConVERSE: a project to support students as they develop their skills as event chairs.
A deft and impassioned chair is very much a co-pilot of any event – they can help ensure the event soars, sizzles and leaves a lasting impression on audiences and authors alike. At best, it will be remembered for years to come.
Through ConVERSE, students are invited to attend chairing masterclasses led by the University’s Writer in Residence, Mary Paulson-Ellis, along with other experienced voices. Selected students are then matched up with events to chair during the festival, and offered further support from Push the Boat Out and the School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures at University of Edinburgh.
This partnership offers us the chance to support and nurture future talent and we’re delighted to add it to the portfolio of support that we offer developing artists.
