Funds for Literary Translation

Creative Europe’s ‘Literary Translation’ scheme is a substantial injection of capital into the creation and promotion of quality translated literature. Its aim is to promote the transnational circulation of literature by  supporting translation projects whose source or target language is officially recognized in EU or EFTA countries. In particular, the translation of works of literature from lesser used languages into English, Spanish, French and German is encouraged as it increases the exposure of these works in Europe and beyond.

The scheme is open to all EU-based publishers and publishing houses that have been in existence for at least 2 years and it offers the co-financing (up to 50 percent of all eligible costs) of the translation, publication and promotion of a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 10 works of fiction. There are two types of contracts available – category type 1, which will be issued every year until 2020, offer a maximum grant of 100, 000 euros for two-year projects, while category type 2, which have been issued since December 2013 and will be issued last in December 2018, offer a framework partnership agreement which lasts three years with a maximum grant of 100, 000 euros per year.

As stated before, the scheme gives preference to translations from lesser used languages into English, French, German and Spanish. This should be very interesting for Maltese publishers as Maltese is a lesser used language and translations of Maltese literature are not so common. In addition, it should be noted that the scheme also favours translations of works of authors that won have the EUPL (European Union Prize for Literature).

Interested parties should visit the Creative Europe website and start by perusing the guidelines. It is very important that the project fits the parameters set in the guidelines. The site will then guide the applicant to the Participant portal where they can submit their application. However, applicants are strongly urged to review their project thoroughly after reading the guidelines in order to make sure their application stands a good chance of getting shortlisted and, hopefully, selected. The website is user-friendly and offers IT support in the form of a help-desk.

The deadline for the current call is 25/7/2018, which is a little more than a month away. Interested parties are strongly urged to start preparing their application now by visiting the website and going through the document checklist in the guidelines. The National Book Council strongly urges all local publishers and publishing houses to come up with projects and apply!