Book Publishing Support : Art Books
Deadlines
Applications are assessed at two annual competitions; the deadlines are 15 April and 15 September. Applications and support material must be postmarked no later than the deadline. If either of these dates falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.
Program Description
The Art Books component of the Book Publishing Support program encourages the production of high-quality illustrated books on the contemporary or Aboriginal Canadian visual arts. The Writing and Publishing Section of the Canada Council for the Arts recognizes that such books entail high costs for their development and printing, and often for their distribution, and that the readiness of publishers to take on such projects is inhibited by a lack of funds.
The Writing and Publishing Section has collaborated with the Visual Arts Section to develop the guidelines below for eligibility, project assessment and funding. The evaluation criteria for the content of art books have been established by Visual Arts, while Writing and Publishing has established the production criteria.
Funding for an art book project is drawn from two Canada Council programs:
- Project Assistance to Visual Arts and Fine Craft Organizations (Visual Arts Section);
- Book Publishing Support (Writing and Publishing Section).
Eligibility
Eligibility is limited to publishers participating in the Book Publishing Support program, through either Block Grants or Emerging Publisher Grants.
In addition to meeting the general eligibility criteria of the Book Publishing Support program, the proposed titles must:
- consist of subject matter related to the contemporary or Aboriginal Canadian visual arts;
- involve significant expenses (i.e. pre-production and production expenses totalling more than $20,000);
- contain a significant number of high-quality four-colour or black-and-white illustrations;
- exhibit superior quality in both interior and cover design, and exceed the standard trade book format;
- include a substantial critical content (with a text of at least 10,000 words);
- consist of at least 96 printed pages.
The focus of the project must be on the visual arts and visual artists, and not on other art forms. Photographic art projects are assessed for eligibility on the basis of the photographer’s status as a recognized visual artist and the merit of the critical text accompanying the illustrations.
Exhibition catalogues are not eligible.
Projects must be completed within 24 months of approval of a grant.
All Canada Council for the Arts programs are accessible to Aboriginal arts organizations and arts organizations of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.
Grant Amount
Funding is not automatic; applications are evaluated by an assessment committee, according to the criteria indicated below.
Funds are available from two sources:
- Visual Arts, for manuscript development;
- Writing and Publishing, for printing and binding.
The amount of the Visual Arts Section’s support is determined by the assessment committee. Manuscript development can include the costs of editing, travel, permission fees, design and artwork, and colour separations.
It is possible that the committee will recommend funding from the Writing and Publishing Section only.
Collaborative projects with art museums or public art galleries are eligible. If the institution has already received funding from the Visual Arts Section for the same book project, the publisher will be eligible to receive funding from the Writing and Publishing Section only.
The Writing and Publishing Section’s support for a single art book title is limited to a total of $10,000. Therefore, titles receiving Art and Architecture Books grants are not eligible for additional support under regular Block Grants. Similarly, publishers should not expect to receive more than $5,000 from the Art and Architecture Books component if they have received a $5,000 advance under Emerging Publisher Grants for production of the same title.
Assessment of Applications
Project proposals will be evaluated by the peer assessment committee that meets to evaluate applications under the Project Assistance to Visual Arts Organizations program.
The assessment criterion for Visual Arts support is the contribution of the proposed title to the critical discourse on the contemporary or Aboriginal visual arts in Canada.
The assessment criteria for Writing and Publishing support are the contribution of the proposed title to the public’s understanding of, or appreciation for, contemporary or Aboriginal visual arts in Canada and the quality of title presentation.
Applicants will be notified of the results, in writing, following the assessment committee meetings (usually three to four months after the deadline). The Canada Council for the Arts does not release results over the telephone or by email.
Further Information
This information summary is an overview of Book Publishing Support: Art Books program. Publishers seeking assistance must currently be participating in the Canada Council’s Block Grants or Emerging Publisher Grants under the Book Publishing Support program. The application form for the Art Books component of the program is available on request from 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
April 2005