Bella Caledonia was formed in 2007 by Mike Small and Kevin Williamson as an online magazine combining political and cultural commentary. Bella is named after a character in Alasdair Gray’s Poor Things (1992). Like Bella we are looking for a publication and a movement that is innocent, vigorous and insatiably curious. Bella is aligned to no one and sees herself as the bastard child of parent publications too good for this world, from Calgacus to Red Herring, from Harpies & Quines to the Black Dwarf.
Bella grew out of citizen journalism movement (from Indymedia) and now aims to create a space for new writers alongside more established journalists.
We publish in English, Scots and Gaelic and have columnists from across Scotland. We publish a weekly column in the National newspaper and we occasionally print magazines and books.
Bella Caledonia aims to give voice to the unheard and to amplify the excluded and the marginalised. We aim to create a media that looks like our society and challenges cultural norms and orthodoxy, to do this we are launching a fully-funded programme called Many Voices.
In an attempt to give Editorial experience to minority groups that are under and mis-represented in the media we are offering – through 2020/2021 a series of paid placements as Commissioning Editors.
The first deadline for applications is 30 August.