Entire Translation Grant

General Information

DEADLINES FOR APPLICATION AND ASSESSMENT
Twice a year: 20 January, 20 May

Applicants may submit up to three (3) applications in each of the two (2) assessment periods.

Translation grant for an entire work

The application for the grant must be submitted online. It will be assessed by a committee set up by HFBC.

Legal entities under public and private law, whether for-profit or non-profit, as well as natural persons, are eligible to apply. Such are:

Educational institutions
Universities
Publishers
Authors
Playwrights
Translators
Literary agents

The programme funds up to 75% of the total cost of the translation, as set out in the budget submitted with the application. The Committee may revise the proposed budget at its discretion. In making its decision, the Committee will take into account the standard translation rates per page for the country/language and type of text concerned.

Criteria

The quality of the original work.
The quality of the translator’s work and of the publisher who will undertake the publication in the language and country in question (list of previous publishings/translations published).
The reasons for selecting the particular book.
Whether the original book has been awarded the State Prize for Literature or other prizes.
The number of reprints of the proposed book.
The promotion of new or emerging authors.
The impact of the author’s work abroad.
In the case of plays, a declaration of interest from a theatre organization abroad will be taken into account.
The widest possible distribution of funds.
The promotion of the Greek language and book production internationally.
A plan for the promotion of the proposed book in the target market.

Grant amount and procedure

THE PROGRAMME FUNDS UP TO 75% OF THE TOTAL COST FOR THE TRANSLATION OF AN ENTIRE WORK

The Committee’s decisions must be communicated to the applicants within six (6) weeks of the deadline for the submission of applications.The signing of a relevant agreement between the publishers and HFBC must be completed within six (6) weeks of the announcement of the positive assessments and the Committee’s decisions, the content of which is fully binding on the Board of HFBC and is governed by Law no. 4412/2016 (Government Gazette A 147/8-8-16), as amended and in force.

For the assessment of the translation costs, the Committee will examine the translator’s contract with the publisher and the official translation rates applicable in each country, taking into account the specific requirements of the project and the target language.

The grant shall be paid in two (2) instalments to the bank account of the applicant publisher: 50% upon signing the relevant agreement with HFBC and the remaining 50% upon completion of the publication.

Grant mention

The first pages of the translated work must include the following statement in the language of translation: “This publication has been produced with the support of the Ministry of Culture and the Hellenic Foundation for Books and Culture (HFBC) as part of the GreekLit programme”. It must be accompanied by the logo of the programme.

Terms and conditions

The original work by a Greek author proposed for translation must have been published in physical form by a reputable* publisher at the time of application. The translation of the Greek work must be published by a reputable* foreign publisher who will guarantee the distribution and promotion of the book in the country of publication.

The translated book must be published in a minimum of 1000 copies for prose works and 800 copies for poetry and essays, taking into account the publishing practice and book market in the country of publication.

The publisher submitting a proposal to the programme must have concluded an agreement and/or signed a contract with the holder of the rights to the Greek book, as well as with the translator. The work must be published within two (2) years of the approval of the grant. All types of books, with the exception of school publications, may be proposed for translation, provided they meet the above conditions.

In the case of comic books, graphic novels and/or illustrated children’s books, funding may include the cost of purchasing electronic illustration files.

* Indicative criteria: the publisher’s overall catalogue of titles, specialisation in specific genres, the distribution and promotion system, the special importance attached to the quality of translations (list of collaborating translators) and the overall editing and proofreading|