Deadline: 31-Dec-2025
The Swedish Arts Council provides grants to support international exchange and cooperation in the field of literature by funding translations of Swedish works into other languages.
The objective of this grant is to increase publishing of quality literature in other Nordic languages. The production grant is assessed in relation to the stated costs but the maximum amount is SEK 20,000.
Grants may be awarded to publishers or theatres in Sweden or in other countries. The applicant must be the one who will publish/perform the translation of the work. Applicants shall have a professional distribution of the translated work. Professional distribution means that the work shall be able to reach readers in the relevant language area through bookstores and libraries. Production of dramatic works means that the theatre performs the work for audiences in the relevant language area. The activities for which the grant is applied shall be carried out by a legal person. Natural persons cannot apply for the grant.
Licensed translations of Swedish works in the genres prose, poetry, essays, non-fiction, picture books, comics and graphic novels, as well as drama published in book form, for children, young people, and adults are eligible for grants. Licensed means that there is a contract with the rightsholder regarding translation for publication/production. Support can also be provided for translation of Swedish drama licensed for stage performance. You cannot apply for grants for textbooks, Festschrifts, homage volumes, publishing of sheet music, study materials, specialised scholarly works, reference books, hobby books, yearbooks, books of local interest, exhibition catalogues, craft books, handbooks, cookbooks, and travel guides.
Translation costs and/or production costs are eligible for grants. Grants for production costs may be awarded for four-colour illustrated books or for books that are considered to be particularly costly to publish in translation for other reasons, such as the production costs of poetry, comics and graphic novels. The grant cannot cover copyright costs. You can apply for printing costs and, where applicable, for the costs of inserting text into comics and graphic novels. For translation costs, the maximum amount you can apply for is the one corresponding to the translator’s fee. For production costs, the maximum amount you can apply for is an amount that covers the estimated costs of printing the book, and/or the costs of inserting text into comics and graphic novels.
Production grants cannot be applied for for non-illustrated works or works with black and white illustrations, with the exception of hand-lettering black and white comics and graphic novels. Support cannot be applied for the purchase of rights or production files, design or editorial and other comparable work. In the application, the applicant shall provide the information and the appendices requested by the Swedish Arts Council. Compulsory attachments are signed license agreements, signed translation agreements, the translator’s CV and list of works, and PDF/electronic version of the original Swedish edition of the work subject to the application.
The application shall also include a justification for why the applicant is applying for support for the translation in question, as well as a description of how they plan to ensure that the translated work reaches the intended target audiences. When the grant committee assesses applications, their primary starting point is the literary quality of the work in question. Members assess the narrative structure of the work, its linguistic and artistic expression, as well as the text’s ability to, regardless of genre, engage the reader.
With respect to illustrated works, the interaction between text and illustrations is also assessed. For non-fiction, the factual presentation is also assessed. In addition to literary quality, the Swedish Arts Council also considers the quality of the application, according to the following aspects: the applicant’s arguments for why the book shall be translated into the language in question, how the applicant plans to ensure that the translation reaches its audience, and the translator’s qualifications. When the amount applied for exceeds the available funds, the grant committee applies the priorities established by the Swedish Arts Council: the age of the work, language, number of applications per applicant, anthologies, diversity, and other priorities that may be announced.
These grants are an important resource for spreading Swedish literature and drama to international audiences, ensuring that works of high literary quality can reach new readers across languages and regions. The support covers translation and specific production costs, with a strong emphasis on promoting diversity across genres, languages, and cultural contexts.
For more information, visit Swedish Arts Council.