Creative Europe: CULTURE Launches Circulation of European Literary Works Call 2023

The call will support transnational projects that support the translation of works of fiction from and into eligible language within Europe and beyond.

Creative Europe is the EU programme dedicated to supporting Europe’s cultural and creative sectors. The CULTURE strand of Creative Europe aims to promote and enhance artistic and cultural cooperation at the European level and beyond.

The Creative Europe: CULTURE strand has now launched the 2023 edition of the Circulation of European Literary Works call. The action will support projects that will translate, publish, distribute and promote works of fiction as well as activities to help the sales of translation rights in Europe and beyond.

Selected projects will contribute to the following objectives:

• Strengthening the transnational circulation and diversity of European literary works.
• Encouraging the translation and promotion of works of fiction written in lesser-used languages to increase their circulation to larger markets in Europe and beyond.
• Reaching new audiences for European literary works.
• Strengthening the competitiveness of the book sector by encouraging cooperation within the book value chain.

The action will target around 40 projects, each based on a sound editorial and promotion strategy covering a package of at least five eligible works of fiction translated from and into eligible language. The following language eligibility criteria apply:

• The source language and target language must be ‘officially recognised languages’ of the eligible countries.
• Translations out of Latin and ancient Greek into officially recognised languages are also eligible.
• Translations must have a transnational dimension. The translation of national literature from one official language into another official language of the same country is therefore not eligible if there is no distribution strategy outside the country in question.

In addition and in acknowledgement of the situation in Ukraine, projects with the objective of providing European or Ukrainian books in Ukrainian language to Ukrainian refugees and displaced people will be encouraged.

The following works in paper or digital formats (e-books and audio-books) may be translated:

• Works of fiction, irrespective of their literary genre or format (such as novel, short story, theatre or radio play, poetry, comic book, youth literature, etc).
• The works must have been previously published by the submission deadline.
• The works must have been written by authors who are nationals of, or residents in, or be recognised as part of the literary heritage of an eligible country.
• The works must not have been previously translated into the target language, unless a new translation corresponds to a clearly assessed need.

Applications may be submitted by a single organisation or a consortium consisting of a minimum of two eligible organisations. Applicants must be legal entities established and officially registered in an eligible country. The coordinator must be active in the publishing and book sector and have had a legal existence for at least two years prior to the date of the deadline for submission of applications.

The total budget available for the Call is approximately €5 million. The following maximum grant values can be applied for depending on the size of the project:

• Small-scale: Projects proposing translation of at least 5 different books can receive up to €100,000.
• Medium-scale: Projects proposing translation of at least 11 different books can receive up to €200,000.
• Large scale: Projects proposing translation of at least 21 different books can receive up to €300,000.

In all cases, the maximum co-funding rate is set at 60%. The grant will be a lump sum grant.

Projects should not exceed 36 months.

Applications should be submitted by the 21 February 2023 deadline.

(This report was the subject of a ResearchConnect Newsflash.)