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Grants to Literary and Art Magazines

Deadline

1 March

Program Description

This program encourages excellence in artistic expression and fosters awareness of the contemporary arts and literature in Canada, through support for the publication of literary and art magazines.

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Eligibility

Eligible Publishers

Publishers of magazines that meet the criteria listed below are eligible to apply. They must:

  • have published at least two issues of the magazine before applying for a grant and be committed to a continuing magazine publishing program
  • have identified the target audience for the magazine and developed an appropriate distribution method to reach it
  • have a paid circulation of at least 50 percent of the copies printed (except for electronic magazines); for magazines linked with an association, or sharing editorial resources with another organization, only copies sold to non-members are taken into consideration, and
  • have and honour a clear policy with respect to the use of contributors’ writing and intellectual property.

Eligible Magazines

To be eligible for support, magazines must:

  • be written principally in English, French or one of Canada’s Aboriginal languages
  • the arts or literature in Canada must be an important and regular, not occasional or peripheral, editorial focus of the periodical
  • be at least 75 percent Canadian-owned
  • be published at least twice a year
  • focus mainly on editorial content written or created by Canadians
  • have a demonstrated editorial capability and financial stability
  • focus mainly on previously unpublished material, and
  • have a print run of at least 500 copies per issue, but not exceed 25,000 copies per issue (except for electronic magazines).

Electronically published magazines are eligible if they are published on a regular basis and can demonstrate a minimum of 250 visits per issue. They must meet the same content and quality criteria as do magazines printed on paper (including a clearly established and honoured policy respecting the use of writers’ intellectual property).

This Canada Council for the Arts program is accessible to Aboriginal artists or arts organizations and artists or arts organizations from diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

Ineligible Magazines

The following categories of magazines are ineligible for support under this program:

  • bulletins, newsletters or house organs that publish material directed primarily to their membership
  • magazines written by, or run by, students within the context of academic courses or training sessions, and
  • business and trade magazines (except in the field of Canadian literature), program guides, scholarly magazines, alternative newsweeklies (normally in a tabloid format) and self-help periodicals or newsletters (magazines of an association or other organization that are not financially and editorially independent of the organization).

Eligibility of magazines is assessed by the Program Officer. Magazines that meet the eligibility criteria for the print component and the electronic component must make the choice between the two components when applying.

New Magazines Component

This program includes a component for support of new magazines devoted to literature and the contemporary arts in Canada. Seed grants of between $5,000 and $15,000 will be awarded to the new magazines judged most deserving in terms of literary and artistic potential.

The eligibility criteria for this component are the same as stated above, with the exception of the following technical criteria:

  • the publisher’s paid circulation must be a minimum of 100 copies (except for electronic magazines).

New magazines may receive only one grant under this component; subsequently, they will be considered in the regular program. A magazine is not eligible for support from the regular program unless it has received one grant from the New Magazines component. First-time applicants must apply to the New Magazines component regardless of the number of issues they have published previously.

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Grant Amount

The amount of the Canada Council's grant, except under the New Magazines component, is based on the magazine's demonstrated need for support, the peer assessment committee’s evaluation of its excellence (based on the assessment criteria described below), the proposed publishing program and the number of issues published the previous year. Double issues are considered as a single issue in calculating grant amounts.

The Canada Council will contribute only towards issues printed in the next fiscal year and will not cover a publisher’s accumulated deficit.

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Application Guidelines and Form

Grants to Literary and Art Magazines (PDF Acrobat format) The application form cannot be completed on-line.

Financial pages for Grants to Literary and Art Magazines (Excel format)

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Futher Information

Peter Schneider
Writing and Publishing Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8

Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or  613- 566-4414, ext. 4685    

TTY : 1-866-585-5559

Fax: 613-566-4410

January 2010