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Book Publishing Support: Emerging Publisher Grants

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The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.

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Deadline

1 November

If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

The Canada Council will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline date, incomplete applications or those submitted by fax or email.

Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.

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Program Description 

As part of fulfilling its mandate to foster the production and enjoyment of the arts in Canada, the Canada Council for the Arts provides financial assistance to Canadian publishers to offset the costs of publishing Canadian trade books that make a significant contribution to the development of Canadian literature. This assistance is made available through Emerging Publisher Grants (for emerging publishers) and Block Grants (for established publishers).

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Eligibility of Publishers

Please note that meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee that you will receive a grant.

Emerging Publisher Grants assist publishing houses that have published a minimum of four and a maximum of 15 eligible titles and that demonstrate the potential to play an active role in the development of Canadian literature.

First-time applicants to the Book Publishing Support program must apply to the Emerging Publisher Grants component, even if they have published 16 or more eligible titles. Applicants must receive an Emerging Publisher Grant before they can apply to the Block Grants component.

Publisher Eligibility

To be eligible for Emerging Publisher Grants support, a publishing company must:

  • have its head office in Canada, maintain editorial control in Canada and be at least 75 percent Canadian-owned
  • maintain full control over editorial processes, have editorial independence from any other company receiving Book Publishing Support from the Canada Council, and produce separate financial statements
  • have book publishing as its primary, rather than a peripheral or occasional, activity
  • have at least four eligible titles in print, of which at least one was published in the previous twelve months, and be committed to a sustained trade book publishing program, consisting of titles by a variety of authors (Aboriginal-controlled book publishers with fewer than four eligible titles in print should contact the Program Officer to discuss their situation.)
  • use appropriate and effective means to market, distribute and create public awareness of its publications
  • issue clear royalty statements on a regular basis and have fulfilled all contractual obligations to writers, illustrators, translators and other copyright licensors; publishers that owe outstanding payments to writers, illustrators, translators and/or other copyright licensors as of the application deadline are not eligible.
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Eligibility of Titles

To be eligible, a title must:

  • contain at least 50 percent Canadian-authored creative content (text or graphic)
  • have at least 48 printed pages between the covers (with the exception of children’s books, which must contain at least 24 printed pages)
  • have a print run of at least 350 copies
  • be published principally in English, French or one of Canada’s Aboriginal languages
  • acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, if produced by a publisher already receiving Book Publishing Support.

Because the Canada Council’s mandate includes supporting production in the literary arts, and the study of literature and the arts, only titles in the following categories are eligible:

  •  fiction
  •  poetry
  •  drama
  •  graphic novel (minimum 48 pages)
  •  publications for children and young adults, except those in ineligible categories (see below)
  •  literary non-fiction.

The Canada Council defines literary non-fiction as narrative text about real events, people or ideas, where the writer’s voice and opinion are evident and the narrative is set within a context and a critical framework. The work should be accessible to a general reading audience and cannot be intended for a specialized or academic readership. Eligible literary non-fiction titles make a significant contribution to literature, or to information about the arts or to the enjoyment of writing by Canadians. Titles within the following subjects are eligible, if they meet all other eligibility criteria: art, architecture, biography, history, literary criticism, nature, philosophy, politics, reference, social sciences, sports and travel.

Audio productions are eligible if they have been previously released as books and if they are professionally produced, by eligible publishers, on CD or DVD

If you wish to obtain a preliminary assessment of a title’s eligibility, send a written request to the Program Officer. You must request assessments of title eligibility on or before 15 September.

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Grant Amount

Funding ranges between $5,000 and $30,000, as recommended by the peer assessment committee.

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Further Information

Elizabeth Eve
Program Officer
Writing and Publishing Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8

1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5576

TTY: 1-866-585-5559

September 2012