Book Publishing Support: Translation Grants
Deadlines
Completed applications and all support material must be postmarked no later than 1 June 2006 or 2 January 2007. If either date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. Application must be made before the translation has been completed.
The Canada Council will not accept applications postmarked after the deadline, incomplete applications, or those submitted by fax or email.
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.
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 summary 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;
- 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. 5489.
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 obtain funding to translate their own work.
All Canada Council for the Arts programs are 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 Emerging Publisher Grants and Block Grants. These criteria are also listed in the program summary referred to immediately above.
Works are not eligible for a Translation Grant if the planned print run of the translated version is more than 5,000 copies in the first 12 months following publication.
Only the first edition of a translated work is eligible; subsequent editions are not. Also, a request is not eligible for a new translation of a work that has already been translated, in Canada or elsewhere.
Restrictions
Publishers cannot have more than six Canada Council-supported translations under way at any one time.
Grant Amount
Publishers may receive the following financial assistance from this program:
- the cost of translating an eligible work;
- expenses for one trip to enable the translator to meet with the author before completing the translation;
- 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 $20,000. Grant requests for less than $100 will not be considered.
The amount of the grant is based on a word count of the original text. The Canada Council's current contribution rates toward the cost of translation are $0.20 per word for poetry, $0.16 for drama and $0.14 for all other material.
The annual amount a publisher may receive from the Translation Grants program is limited according to the number of bonus points awarded to the publisher by the Block Grants program's peer assessment committee. However, this annual amount is at least $24,000 for all publishers, including those receiving assistance from the Emerging Publisher Grants program.
Travel Assistance for Translator
The maximum amount available is $500.
The Canada Council’s contribution to this activity is based on the cost of an economy airplane 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 the budget submitted by the publisher.
Assessment of Applications
Applications are reviewed by the Writing and Publishing Section and may also be assessed by independent assessors, as required.
Applicants will be notified of the results, in writing, approximately three months after the application deadline. Results are not released over the telephone.
Application Form
Book Publishing Support: Translation Grants (pdf, 142KB)
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line
Further Information
This program summary provides an outline of the Translation Grants program. For further details or to obtain an application form, contact Catherine Montgomery, Writing and Publishing Section Officer.
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
Writing and Publishing Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
29 August 2006
Application Form
Click here to download the application form (PDF Acrobat format). This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.