The wait is over. Push the Boat Out 2026 has arrived – and tickets are on sale now!
Launching today, National Poetry Day, our 2026 programme brings together more than 120 artists across 75 events, spanning poetry, performance, live music, workshops, conversation and ambitious new creative collaborations.
From 12–15 November, we’ll take over the Pleasance and venues across Edinburgh for four days of poetry in all its forms – bringing together brilliant voices from Scotland and around the world.
This year, we invite you to step into The Space Between.
Our 2026 theme explores the liminal and transitional spaces between people, places, ideas and experiences – the moments where things shift, meet and transform.
We’re also turning our attention towards our Shorelines: their cultural significance, their hold on our imaginations and the threats they face from the climate crisis.
At the heart of the programme is The Space Between, a major showcase of three brand-new poetry-led performance commissions created in association with the National Theatre of Scotland.
Gray Crosbie and Guy Woods, Catherine Street and Nancy Burns, and Sunnah Khan bring poetry into conversation with sound, film, performance and archive to create three very different new works.
Sunnah Khan’s Terror Error interweaves poetry and archiving; Tits, by Gray Crosbie and Guy Woods, combines spoken word with birdsong and sound design; while Catherine Street and Nancy Burns’ Spatial Murmurs brings together poetry, voice and film to explore a wordless experience.
New work runs throughout this year’s festival. Poet Iain Morrison and visual artist Corin Sworn present work developed through PTBO’s first residency programme in partnership with Little Sparta.
And to close PTBO26, musician Aurora Engine joins writers JL Williams, Dean Atta and Kirsty Logan for a striking new collaboration combining music, electronica, poetry, voice and performance.
Festival Nights PTBO26
Our Festival Nights are back, bringing some of the most exciting names in poetry and performance to Edinburgh.
We’ll launch the festival with an Opening Night Cabaret headlined by Luke Wright, alongside Nick Makoha, EmmaClaire Brightlyn and rapper RamZee.
We’re also thrilled to present the Scottish premiere of Joelle Taylor’s Maryville, exploring fifty years of lesbian counterculture, plus an evening with poet, writer and TV producer Henry Normal, celebrating his latest anthology of poems.
On Saturday night, award-winning writer and musician Anthony Joseph and his full band bring their fusion of spoken word, Afrobeat and funk to our annual Saturday Night Gig, with opening support from Edinburgh poet and rapper Bee Asha. Anthony will also lead a creative writing workshop and appear in conversation about his new collection, Haunting the Black Air.
And before the main festival begins, join us aboard Edinburgh’s luxury floating hotel Fingal on 31 October for a special pre-festival evening with former Scots Makar Jackie Kay.
Voices from Scotland and around the world
This year, PTBO brings together an extraordinary range of voices from Scotland and across the globe.
Our Many-Voiced Country, curated by Scots Makar Peter Mackay, celebrates the rich mix of languages shaping Scotland’s literary landscape today, bringing together writers working in Gaelic, Chinese, Spanish, Persian, French and Doric.
International voices are woven throughout the programme, with acclaimed poets including Naomi Shihab Nye, Fady Joudah, Lorna Goodison, Kwame Dawes, Ulrike Draesner, Don Mee Choi and Grace Yee joining us for online workshops, discussions and some in person, in Edinburgh.
Festival Director Emma Collins said:
“Push the Boat Out 2026 invites audiences to step into The Space Between, the places where ideas, experiences and possibilities meet, and to stay with and celebrate the uncertain and undefined. With intimate readings, ambitious new commissions, spoken word, late-night gigs, and workshops covering everything from craft masterclasses to sword play, this year’s festival invites audiences to discover poetry in unexpected places and forms.”
Head for the shoreline
Our Shorelines programme takes poetry towards the water, exploring the coast as a place of inspiration, imagination and transformation.
Combing the Shoreline brings artist and beachcomber Emily Dubious and poet Lisa Fannen to Portobello Beach for a creative writing workshop.
Tracing the Shoreline sees poets Garry Mackenzie and Alycia Pirmohamed explore migration, memory and the ways the climate crisis is threatening our coastlines, while Edinburgh Sea Shanty Co. brings traditional and original sea shanties to life in an afternoon sing-along.
Poetry as protest
Across the weekend, we’ll explore poetry as protest, activism and a vehicle for social justice. Poetry as Witness, Poetry as Protest brings together Hannah Lavery and Don Mee Choi, while Celebrating the Troublemaker features Annemarie Ní Churreáin. In Contested Bodies, Kim Moore and Charlotte Van den Broeck explore the ways women’s bodies are represented and shaped by personal, cultural and social expectations.
Poetry you can taste
Why stop at reading poetry? Food writer Ella Risbridger hosts a special Poetry Tasting Menu at Valvona & Crolla, matching poems with a two-course meal, snacks and drinks. And Great Grog’s Joe Trotter pairs wine with performances from acclaimed spoken word poet Kate Ireland in Words and Wine.
Something for the whole family
For the first time, PTBO will host dedicated events for children and families, opening up even more ways to discover and enjoy poetry together. Former Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho headlines the programme, alongside a special Bookbug Pushes the Boat Out story and song session for some of our youngest festival-goers.
Supporting writers at every stage
PTBO26 is also about creating opportunities for writers, artists and the wider poetry community.
This year’s programme includes industry sessions covering publishing, copyright, contracts, editing, programming and mentorship, alongside one-to-one Publisher Surgeries with leading independent presses.
Emerging voices take centre stage through the New Writers Awards 2027: Spoken Word Shortlist, in partnership with Scottish Book Trust.
We’re also continuing our community engagement work through partnerships with SCOREscotland, Poverty Alliance Scotland, Simon Community Scotland and high schools across Edinburgh.
Find your space at PTBO26
From intimate readings and conversations to ambitious new commissions, workshops, family events, food, live music and late-night performances, this year’s programme is an invitation to experience poetry differently.
Come for a favourite poet. Discover someone new. Try your hand at writing. Head to the shoreline. Dance with us on Saturday night. Or simply make some space for something unexpected.
Push the Boat Out takes place 12–15 November 2026 at the Pleasance and venues across Edinburgh, with our special pre-festival event with Jackie Kay aboard Fingal on 31 October.
Tickets are on sale now. Explore the full programme and book your place at Push the Boat Out 2026.
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