Book Publishing Support: Translation Grants
Deadline
There are no deadlines for this program. You may apply at any time during the year. Applications must be submitted before the translation has been completed.
Program Description
The Canada Council for the Arts provides financial assistance for the first translation of literary works written by Canadian authors. Translation must be into French, English or an Aboriginal language for publication in Canada.
Note: In 2009-2010, the Canada Council for the Arts will administer, on behalf of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the National Translation Program for Book Publishing (NTPBP), which will more than double the current budget for Book Publishing Support: Translation Grants.
The National Translation Program for Book Publishing is designed to increase the availability of Canadian-authored books in both official languages, delivering on the commitment that the Canadian government announced in June 2008, in the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality.
Eligibility
Applicant Eligibility
The request for funds must be submitted by the publisher who will publish the translation. Translators cannot solicit a grant directly from the Canada Council.
Publishers seeking assistance must currently be participating in the Canada Council’s Block Grants or Emerging Publisher Grants program. The publisher eligibility criteria for these programs are outlined in the program application guidelines entitled “Book Publishing Support: Emerging Publisher Grants and Block Grants.”
In addition to meeting those criteria, publishers must:
- already have published at least three eligible titles in the language of translation in which they are seeking assistance (except in the case of translations into an Aboriginal language), and
- have an effective network for distribution of the translated works.
Canadian theatre companies should apply to the Theatre Section for the translation of Canadian plays. For more information, contact the Theatre Section at 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4480.
Applications must be submitted before the translation has been completed according to date specified in the agreement with the translator.
The translator must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and a recognized professional translator who has completed a degree in translation or has had at least one literary translation published by a recognized publisher. The translator will also be considered eligible if he or she is a professional writer.
Owners and employees of publishing houses are not accepted as translators under this program. Writers cannot normally obtain funding to translate their own work.
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.
Title Eligibility
Title eligibility criteria are the same as those for the Book Publishing Support: Emerging Publisher Grants and Block Grants program components. These criteria are listed in the application guidelines for these program components.
Retranslations of previously translated works are not eligible unless there are exceptional circumstances.
Restrictions
Publishers cannot have more than six Canada Council translation files open at any one time.
Publishers on concerned status are not eligible for translation grants.
Unsuccessful applications may not be re-submitted in the same fiscal year.
Grant Amount
Publishers may receive the following financial assistance from this program:
- translation assistance: the cost of translating an eligible title
- travel assistance for translators: expenses for one trip to enable the translator to meet with the author before completing the translation
- promotional assistance for translated titles: the costs of promoting a translated work of fiction, poetry or drama. The promotional activities must take place within 12 months of the date of publication of the translation. Promotional activities for which the publisher receives assistance through the Canada Council’s Author Promotion Tours or the Literary Readings, Literary Festivals and Author Residencies program are not eligible.
Translation Assistance
The maximum amount available for any given title is $25,000. Grant requests for texts under 1,500 words will not be considered.
The amount of the grant is based on the word count of the source text. The Canada Council’s contribution rates toward the cost of translation are $0.25 per word for poetry, $0.20 for drama and $0.18 for all other material. These rates will be in effect as long as the Canada Council administers the National Translation Program for Book Publishing.
Travel Assistance for Translator
The maximum amount available is $500.
The Canada Council’s contribution is based on the cost of an economy plane or train ticket.
Promotional Assistance for Translated Titles
The maximum grant available for this type of assistance is $2,500. The amount awarded is based on eligible expenses in the budget submitted by the publisher.
Application Form
Book Publishing Support: Translation Grants (pdf, 142KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line
Further Information
Catherine Montgomery,
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. 5574
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4410
July 2009