Translation grant for a book: who can get one, and what it means

A translation grant is money from a public fund that pays for part of a book's translation, but it almost always goes to the publisher, not the author. In every program we looked at, including the one run by the Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature, the applicant is a publisher that has bought the rights. If you're publishing the book yourself, you probably can't get a translation grant directly. If you have a publisher or an agent, the grant can help sell the book abroad.

What is a translation grant

Many countries want their literature read abroad. So they set up funds that chip in on translation costs, to make it easier for a foreign publisher to decide to buy a book from a language it doesn't know.

The logic is simple. A publisher in France is considering a Hebrew book. It doesn't read Hebrew, it isn't sure the book will sell, and the translation is one of the biggest costs in the project. A grant that covers part of the translation lowers the risk.

Who applies: publishers, not authors

This is the most important thing to know, and it comes up in every program we read:

• The Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature. According to its grant guidelines, grants go to foreign publishers that publish contemporary Hebrew literature in translation. The publisher has to have been operating for more than a year and publish at least ten books a year.
• The European Union. In Creative Europe's Circulation of European Literary Works program, organizations in the publishing field can apply. Individuals can't apply on their own, and the program is meant for fiction.
• English PEN in the UK. The PEN Translates program says the grant is open only to publishers based in the UK.
• The Dutch Foundation for Literature. Its translation grants are for international publishers putting out a translation of a book originally written in Dutch or Frisian.

What the Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature requires

If your book was written in Hebrew, this is the most relevant program. According to the English guidelines on the institute's site:

1. The book was originally published in Hebrew, by a commercial Israeli publisher. A self-published book doesn't meet this condition.
2. The foreign publisher has already signed for the book, through a contract or an option.
3. The book is quality contemporary literature: prose, poetry or drama.
4. The money goes only toward the translator's fee, and usually covers only part of it.
5. Payment comes after the book is out, once the institute receives printed copies.

Applications are accepted all year round, but the institute recommends applying before January 1, and asks you to allow at least three months for an answer.

A translation grant when you have a publisher or an agent

If your book came out with an Israeli publisher, it's worth asking whether they pitch the book abroad, and whether they mention the grant when they present it to foreign publishers. The condition that the book came out with a commercial Israeli publisher is already met in your case.

If you have a literary agent, ask them about grants in the countries where they're pitching the book. We wrote about what an agent does in what is a literary agent.

Either way, you're not the one applying. But knowing the grant exists helps you ask the right questions.

And if you're publishing on your own

Then a translation grant probably won't fund your book, and it's important to know that before you spend weeks searching. These programs are built around publishers, contracts and rights that have been sold.

That doesn't mean there's no way forward. It means the decision about translation depends on your budget, and it's worth picking the route based on the kind of book you have. We wrote about that in novel, memoir, children's book or guide and in how to compare two translation quotes.

One more thing: grant terms change, and programs open and close. Before you count on anything, read the current guidelines on the fund's own website. More questions are collected in our frequently asked questions.