Push the Boat Out (PTBO), Edinburgh’s international poetry festival, has announced its 2026 program, which will feature over 120 artists across 75 events, including poetry, performance, music, workshops, and creative collaborations. Tickets for the festival became available on Thursday, October 1, coinciding with National Poetry Day 2026.
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Scheduled from November 12 to 15, the festival will take place at the Pleasance and various local venues. Prior to the main festival, there will be a special preview event with former national Makar Jackie Kay aboard The Fingal, Edinburgh’s luxury floating hotel, on October 31.
This year’s theme, The Space Between, focuses on both physical and metaphorical transitional spaces. It also addresses the cultural significance of shorelines amid the current climate crisis.
A highlight of the festival will be The Space Between, a showcase of new poetry-led performance commissions created in partnership with the National Theatre of Scotland. This segment will feature works by Gray Crosbie and Guy Woods, Catherine Street and Nancy Burns, and Sunnah Khan. Khan’s piece, Terror Error, responds to the historical sentencing of four activists as terrorists on June 12, 2026. Crosbie and Woods' Tits combines spoken word with birdsong and sound design, while Spatial Murmurs by Street and Burns integrates poetry, voice, and film to convey a wordless experience.
Additionally, the festival will include a collaboration between poet Iain Morrison and visual artist Corin Sworn, developed through PTBO’s inaugural residency program with Little Sparta. The festival will conclude with a unique commission featuring musician Aurora Engine alongside writers JL Williams, Dean Atta, and Kirsty Logan, blending music, electronica, poetry, voice, and performance for an impactful closing event.
For more details, the full PTBO program is available online at www.pushtheboatout.org.