Ambit

Ambit was a quarterly literary periodical published in the United Kingdom. The magazine was founded in 1959 by Martin Bax, a London novelist and consultant paediatrician. Uniting art, fiction, poetry and reviews, and distributed internationally, the magazine appeared quarterly until going on indefinite hiatus in April 2023. Notable Ambit contributors have included J. G. Ballard, Edwin Brock, Eduardo Paolozzi, Ralph Steadman, Lionel Kearns, Stevie Smith, Henry Graham, Peter Porter, Carol Ann Duffy, Fleur Adcock, Carole Satyamurti, Julia Casterton, Peter Blake and David Hockney to name but a few. Despite the wealth of recognisable names, Ambit also featured the work of new, unpublished writers. In the sixties Ambit became well known for testing the boundaries and social conventions and published many anti-establishment pieces, including an issue with works written under the influence of drugs. Edwin Brock was poetry editor, and JG Ballard became fiction editor alongside, later, Geoff Nicholson. Henry Graham and Carol Ann Duffy joined Edwin Brock as poetry editors. Michael Foreman was art editor for 50 years. Across the magazine's history, Derek Birdsall (Omnific), Alan Kitching, John Morgan Studio and Stephen Barrett were notable designers. In 2013, poet Briony Bax (and daughter of the poet Adrian Mitchell) became editor, successfully transitioning Ambit to gain charitable status, with the intention to continue Ambit's mission of using art and literature to expand upon the times. Former co-editor with Martin Bax, Kate Pemberton, became fiction editor (until 2022), with poetry editors including Declan Ryan and Ralf Webb, and sculptor, Olivia Bax as art editor and designer - covers by JP Dordolo. The magazine held launches at the Tate Modern Gallery and was a regular in Soho, although much of the legacy of Ambit began at the Chelsea Arts Club. After 7 years, Briony Bax became editor emeritus, after recruiting author, poet and performer, Kirsty Allison (who was first published in Ambit in 2007) first as managing editor, then as editor.