PIG UPDATE #38

30th of July 2026

PIG is back with our annual Fringe Special. Read about all the poetic delights the world's biggest performing arts festival has to offer. But don't worry: there's also plenty to see and do right here in Glasgow. So let's get into it!

Events (3 to 16 August 2026)

Our poetic week kicks off with the monthly Candlelight Poetry Open Mic on Monday, 3 August. Ross McFarlane is throwing open the doors of the Old Toll Bar for a brilliant night of readings before he rushes off to his Fringe engagements (more on that later). As always, it's free, and reading slots are 5 minutes.

On Tuesday, 4 August, the monthly Open Book Creative Writing Session is on at Glasgow Women's Library. The mid-morning writing session by Kathrine Sowerby is free to attend and offers thoughtful prompts and encouragement for seasoned writers and beginners alike - although it is targeted at women specifically. In the evening, the weekly Poet's Corner open mic is on at Hillhead Bookclub. This week's theme is 'Things that Float' - light and floaty poems welcome: balloons, boats, clouds, your heart around that special someone... Slots are 5-10 minutes and you just show up to sign up.

Wednesday (5 August) sees Poetry at Sweeney's back on the Southside at Sweeney's On The Park from 7:30pm. Sarah Heitler hosts this warm and welcoming monthly open mic - a safe and comfortable place for first-timers to try their hand at spoken word, though everyone is always welcome. I highly recommend checking out this lovely open mic night, if you haven't already. Where else can you read in front of a glittering curtain of lights?! You can sign up for a 5-minute reading slot on the door or get in touch via Instagram in advance.

Thursday (6 August) is a particularly busy day. The Obsidian Black Poetry Lectures conclude their 2026 online series with a session on African Poetry with Ama Asantewa Diaka, from 1pm. This is the final instalment of an absolutely fantastic series exploring the rich canon of Black poets. Tickets are £10 and recordings will be available afterwards if you can't make the lunchtime slot. That same evening, Good Press is hosting the UK launch of The Pedestrian by Valerie Hsiung, published by Nightboat Books, from 6:30pm. Hsiung's work dissolves the borders of poetry, prose, performance and philosophy, and she'll be joined by a stellar supporting cast of readers: Maria Sledmere, Lady Red Ego, Nat Raha, Nisha Ramayya and Lucille Mona Ling (Gutted I am going to miss this one!). Entry is free. Also on Thursday afternoon, Push the Boat Out is offering the online workshop Moving on from the First Collection with Katie Hale from 4pm to 5:30pm. The session is designed for poets who've published their debut and are now wrestling with what comes next - how to set new goals, find fresh direction and push work beyond its comfort zone. Tickets are £6.

The weekly Poet's Corner is back at Hillhead Bookclub on Tuesday, 11 August. You know the drill: check the organisers' Instagram to find out this week's theme, agonise for ages about what poem would fit, get nervous, get excited, have a brilliant time.

Wednesday (12 August) offers you two excellent reasons to get you out of the house. Glasgow Zine Library is hosting its monthly Poetry Open Mic, while, over in the West End, Gutter is launching Issue 34 at The Alchemy Experiment. The evening features readings from contributors Ceryl Follon, Chisom Okoronkwo, Adi Novak and Sophia Archontis, and is hosted by Sean Wai Keung and Cal Bannerman. It's free and unticketed - just spread the word and show up.

Push the Boat Out continues its online events series on Thursday (13 August) with the online reading and conversation Poetry Beyond Borders: Fernanda Kookuilo'o and Juana Adcock from 6:30pm. Juana Adcock interviews Fernanda Kookuilo'o about her polyphonic book-length poem Knot of Shadows, which centres on the language of rituals and the female experience in Ñuu Savi culture in southern Mexico. You'll hear Kookuilo'o read in Tu'un Savi - the language of rain - alongside Adcock's English translations, and learn about their collaborative process that brought this extraordinary work into English. Tickets are £11.

Friday (14 August) brings a powerful evening of Poetry, Prose, and Protest at McNeill's Bar on Torrisdale Street on the Southside, from 6pm. Hosted by Colin Poole and featuring Tawona Sitholé, Victoria McNulty, Pat Heraghty and Wendy Miller, the night brings together writing that lives where poetry, politics and working-class life meet. The event is part of Govanhill International Festival and Carnival. Tickets are on a sliding scale of £2-£10.

Opportunities

Today's pick from among the long list of opportunities currently on the PIG website:

If you are looking for a spur-of-the-moment, paid opportunity, Rosie's Disobedient Press is accepting flash commissions for up to three poems. The selected artist receives a fee of £300 and their work will be shared in Rosie's quarterly newsletter and featured on the website. Submissions must be unpublished, artists must be Scottish or based in Scotland, and must not be in full-time education. This summer submission window closes on 4 August - so get your work in today!

Also with an imminent deadline is the SMHAF 2026 Writing Competition. The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival's annual free competition is open to writers based in Scotland. Writers aged 16 to 25 will also be considered for the new Young Writer Prize. The theme this year is 'Reflections'. The deadline is 9 August.

SNACK Magazine is looking for poets, authors and speakers to perform at A Day at The Courtyard 2026, part of Govanhill International Festival. The application process is pretty informal and there isn't an official deadline either, so if this sounds like a fun opportunity to you, get in touch with them asap.

London-based independent publisher Out-Spoken Press is currently open for poetry submissions for full collections for its 2027–28 publishing schedule under the editorship of Anthony Anaxagorou. At this stage, all they need is a sample of three poems alongside a short covering letter. The window closes on 14 August.

Finally, a great opportunity for more established writers: Literature Alliance Scotland is offering four Works-in-Progress Bursaries of £3,000 each to writers currently resident in Scotland. The bursary is open to writers who have already published at least one full-length work with a UK publisher and who have a poetry collection or other full-length work-in-progress underway. Applications are open until 30 August.

PIG Spotlight

This section is designed to shine a spotlight on a particular website, organisation or feature. For each Update, I'll pick something new - either because it is plain awesome or because it's new or really topical.

This fortnight's spotlight is on the Fringe. No surprises here. It is August, after all. Obviously, like every year, there's a lot going on. The best starting point for finding poetry at the Fringe is the Spoken Word section of the Fringe programme. This is where many poetry shows, spoken word performances and hybrid literary events are listed. It's a pretty broad and eclectic mix, ranging from intimate solo shows to full ensemble performances, from confessional memoir-in-verse to fiercely political spoken word.

Here's just a little taster:

While you'll have to fork out for these events - as every year, there's also a brilliant line-up of PBH Free Fringe Events. My favourite poetry and spoken-word shows? It's got to be:

The Book Fringe is also on between 13 and 29 August at Argonaut Books, Greenhouse Records and Lighthouse Bookshop, promising "book events, writing workshops, film screenings, walking tours, book clubs, spoken word nights, listening parties and more". Have a look for yourself.

PIG's Poetry Pick

The Scottish Poetry Library recently published a list of the top 50 most-read poems on its website. I loved the broad range of poems on the list - from Burns to Carol Ann Duffy to Edwin Morgan and thought I'd include the most-read poem below.

The Peace of Wild Things

by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

via the Scottish Poetry Library.

That's it from me today. See you in two weeks!

Love,
Annie