Book Publishing Support: Emerging Publisher Grants
Deadline
1 November
If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Your completed application and all support material must be postmarked on or before the deadline date. The only exceptions are eligible titles that will be published in November, which may be submitted on or before 10 December, accompanied by a completed Title Analysis Report form for each title.
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.
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).
Emerging Publisher Grants provide funding for one year, and Block Grants provide one- or two-year grants.
Book publishers receiving Emerging Publisher Grants are also eligible to apply for Translation Grants, Author Promotion Tour assistance, grants for the publication of art books and for Flying Squad grants. Information on these program components is available on the Canada Council’s website or from the Writing and Publishing Section.
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.
Eligibility of Publishers
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 for the Arts, 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; no grants will be issued to publishers that owe outstanding payments to writers, illustrators, translators and (or) other copyright licensors as of the application deadline.
Note that meeting the eligibility criteria allows you to apply to the program. It does not, however, guarantee that you will receive a grant.
Title Eligibility
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.
Books on the arts or architecture may be eligible for support under a special category. For details, contact the Writing and Publishing Section Officer.
If you wish to obtain a preliminary assessment of a title’s eligibility, send a written request to the Program Officer. Include a copy of the finished publication and a completed Title Analysis Report form (see the cover page for information on how to obtain this form). You must request assessments of title eligibility on or before 15 September.
Grant Amount
Funding ranges between $5,000 and $30,000.
Further Information
Carole Boucher
Program Officer
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. 5088
TTY: 1-866-585-5559
Fax: 613-566-4410
August 2010