information
Literature (Grants for the arts)
This information sheet is for prospective literature applicants to
Grants for the arts – individuals and organisations. Please read it
alongside the application materials for the Grants for the arts
programme as a whole. This information sheet complements the
overall Grants for the arts guidelines, eligibility and assessment
criteria, and other information, but does not replace them. We
suggest that you read all the information carefully and talk to your
regional office before submitting any application.
Contents
Literature (Grants for the arts)
1 Making your application to Grants for the arts
1.1 What we can and cannot fund
1.2 Budget
1.3 The assessment criteria
1.4 Self-Publishing
1.5 Translation
1.6
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1 Making your application to
Grants for the arts
These guidelines have been developed in order to assist prospective
literature applicants to Grants for the arts. However, this is a heavily
subscribed programme and we strongly advise you to contact your
regional literature officer before submitting any application.
1.1 What we can and cannot consider funding
We can consider funding:
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Live Literature (including performance poetry)
Poetry
Prose, fiction
Publishing (print and web based work)
Storytelling
Translation (see below)
Literature for young people
We focus primarily on original fiction and poetry, as these best meet
our funding criteria. It is also possible for us to consider memoir,
travelogue, biography and magazines devoted to poetry and new or
emerging authors
We generally do not fund non-fiction (unless it is clearly of literary
interest or merit), lifestyle or general arts magazines, screenwriting –
for film or television as it generally falls within the remit of the Film
Council – and textbooks or publications without a substantial element
of creative writing.
1.2 Budget
For advice on filling out the budget section of the application form,
please call us on 0845 300 6200 and ask to speak to a regional
literature officer.
1.3 The assessment criteria
A track record in any artform is a good way of demonstrating the
quality of a person’s work. Your track record as a writer will be taken
into consideration when your application is assessed so writers who
have been published are often in a better position to demonstrate
artistic quality. This means that our grants are normally offered to
published writers.
However we can support writers who haven’t previously been
published if they can demonstrate the quality of their work
objectively, with references from agents, publishers or other writers
and samples of the work. We also support organisations that offer a
range of services for unpublished authors, from manuscript
assessment to writing courses, to one-to-one mentoring.
Public engagement is an important consideration when assessing
any Grants for the arts application. For writers, the public
engagement usually comprises the availability of their text to the
public in a recognised form of publication (including digital).
1.4 Self-Publishing
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When a publisher acquires rights to a book, it immediately suggests
an objective, professional view that the book is of publishable
standard. When an author chooses to self-publish their book, there is
no such independent validation. The self-published author is often
also at a disadvantage when it comes to marketing and promotion as
they rarely have the resources and time to get their work to a wide
audience, which, as indicated above, is a principal objective of
Grants for the arts. For this reason, applications for self-published
work struggle to score well against the public engagement criterion.
1.5 Translation
Publishers and translators based in England are eligible to apply for
funding to translate work from other languages into English. Usually it
is the publisher who applies for a grant, which may cover both
translation and promotion. However, translators are also eligible to
apply as individuals when appropriate.
We are particularly keen to encourage translation from languages
and literatures currently under-represented in English. We are also
keen to support projects that aim to bring international literature in
English to a wide audience in interesting and innovative ways.
We are generally unable to support translations from English into
other languages.
On the whole, priority is given to translation of contemporary fiction
and poetry; while literary non-fiction titles may also be eligible if they
are exceptional in terms of literary or stylistic innovation.
Terms and conditions
The application should be made on the standard Grants for the arts
application form, together with a written proposal, following the
guidelines available on the Arts Council England website http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/. Please note that Grants for the arts is
a competitive scheme, and the level of demand is extremely high.
In the written proposal, the publisher or translator should explain the
rationale for selecting the text or texts for translation, with information
about the writer and the literary context. Publishers should explain
how the titles contribute to their list. Any reader’s reports may also be
included.
As artistic quality is an important criterion, we recommend that the
application include a short sample of the translation, together with the
corresponding text in the original. Please also include the translator’s
CV.
We are keen that literary translators be paid at least the minimum
rate recommended by the Translators’ Association. As evidence of
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this, the publisher could include a copy of the (draft) contract
between publisher and translator – which we suggest be based on
the model recommended by the Translators’ Association.
Applicants should consult the general guidelines for Grants for the
arts available on the Arts Council website, including the section on
filling in the budget. Please note that the Arts Council rarely funds
100% of the cost of a project through Grants for the arts. The budget
should therefore include at least 10% partnership funding. This could
include any other translation grants, anticipated income from sales or
in-kind support.
Another important criterion for assessment is public engagement,
which in this case usually means the likelihood of the translation
reaching readers. Applicants need to demonstrate strong and well
thought out plans for publication and distribution of the title they are
proposing to translate.
Publishers should include details of their plans for marketing,
promotion and distribution once the titles are published. We are
particularly interested in innovative, imaginative and, above all,
effective ways of bringing contemporary international literature to a
wider audience in the UK.
Publishers of translations supported by a grant from the Arts Council
are required to print the ACE funding mark on the back cover or
jacket of supported titles.
Publishers are advised to contact the literature officer in their Arts
Council England regional office for further information.
1.6 Live Literature, including Storytelling
Similar considerations apply as to those above for writers and
translators. Of paramount importance are the quality of the work, and
its ability to reach an audience. Paralleling the situation with authors
and publishers, it is often possible to establish the quality of an
artist’s work through the endorsement of a third party – such as a
live-literature promoter or festival. Similarly, there is now a well
developed infrastructure for live literature in England, comprising
specialist organisations, promoters, venues, touring specialists,
festivals and the like. The more an applicant engages with this
infrastructure to demonstrate how their work will reach an audience,
the greater the chances of their Grants for the arts application being
successful.
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Finally, we would like to remind you that this Literature Information
Sheet complements standard information on Grants for the arts, and
should be read in conjunction with it.
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