Apply for Project Assistance Program on Literary Arts

Deadline: 2-Nov-23

Project Assistance: Literary Arts supports eligible professional literary arts organizations or collectives to develop, enrich, and promote Canadian literature and writers through publishing, presentation, and dissemination of literary works and the development of new or unique public programming and community engagement initiatives.

The BC Arts Council is an agency of the Province of British Columbia under the Arts Council Act, nurturing and supporting arts and cultural activity in communities across British Columbia.

Funding Information

There is no maximum request amount, but project assistance grants typically range from $5,000 to $15,000. Requests for amounts beyond this range must include a clear rationale for why the project requires a higher amount.
Applicants may request:
- a grant amount up to 50% of the total eligible project budget; or
- a grant amount up to 65% of the total eligible project budget from applicants that are considered part of the BC Arts Council’s designated priority.

Designated Priority Groups

The BC Arts Council’s designated priority groups include applicants and arts and cultural practitioners who are:

Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, or Inuit) Peoples
Deaf or experience disability
Black or people of colour
Located in areas outside greater Vancouver or the capital region

Eligibility Criteria

Organization Applicants – Book Publishers, Arts Periodical Publishers, Literary Organizations
- To be eligible, an organization must be:
  - A professional literary organization, book publisher, or arts periodical publisher registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C.
  - A B.C.-based, Canadian-owned book publisher that has been a legally registered company in B.C. for at least one year.
  - A book publisher or arts periodical publisher or literary organization led by an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) community organization registered and in good standing as a non-profit society or community service co-op in B.C.
  - A book publisher or arts periodical publisher or literary organization led by an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) government in B.C.
  - A book publisher or arts periodical publisher or literary organization operated by a public post-secondary institution in B.C.
- All eligible organizations must also:
  - Provide public arts and cultural programming (or service to the arts and culture sector) in B.C. as a primary activity and have done so for a minimum of one year prior to the intake closing date.
  - Engage skilled artistic, curatorial, and administrative leadership (volunteer or paid) for project or service delivery.
  - Offer programs or publications that benefit or are of interest to the community at-large and not solely the interests of its members.
  - Fairly compensate artists, arts and cultural practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with project and community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice.
  - Follow international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols.
  - Follow the Criminal Records Review Act which requires that people who work with or may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults must undergo a criminal record check by the Criminal Records Review Program.
  - Have completed and submitted any overdue final reports on previous BC Arts Council grants by the intake closing date for this grant program.
  - Not currently receive Operating Assistance from the BC Arts Council.
- An eligible professional literary organization must also:
  - Provide ongoing literary arts programming and/or service to the arts and culture sector in B.C. and have done so for a minimum of one year with a commitment to ongoing operations.
- An eligible arts periodical publisher must also:
  - Have operated and engaged in publishing activity for a minimum of one year with a commitment to continued operations.
  - Publish an arts periodical—either print or electronic—in B.C. and have published at least two issues in the year preceding the application deadline (print periodicals) or have maintained a publishing program and had two issues available for at least 12 months before the application deadline (electronic periodicals).
  - Operate year-round and publish on a regular, clearly communicated schedule, and publish at least two editions or issues per calendar year.
  - Publish artistic expression and social, cultural, or intellectual commentary or inquiry.
- An eligible book publisher must also:
  - Have its head office, general office, editorial office, general operations, and management based in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application.
  - In the case of legally registered companies, be managed and financially controlled by B.C. residents who own at least 75% of the company.
  - Have operated in B.C. for a minimum of one year with book publishing as the primary (and not peripheral or occasional) business, with the publication of original titles as the focus.
  - Maintain full control of the editorial process and have editorial independence from any other company. Where affiliations exist, publishers must be able to demonstrate separate editorial departments, budgets, and financial statements for each book publishing operation.
  - Have at least four eligible titles in print, have published at least two eligible titles in the previous year, and be committed to an ongoing program of publishing eligible titles.
  - Issue royalty statements on a regular basis and fulfill all contractual obligations to writers, illustrators, translators, and other copyright licensors. Publishers owing payments as of the submission deadline may not be eligible for funding.
Arts or Curatorial Collective Applicants
- To be eligible, an Arts or Curatorial Collective must:
  - Be established and readily identified as a collective of independent artists, curators, or arts and cultural practitioners, consisting of three or more individual who are professionally active in their field of practice.
  - Have a demonstrated history of creating or presenting work as a collective and have a clear commitment to a current practice.
  - Apply under the name of an individual member of the collective who acts as the key contact person and is listed as the submitting representative or “Primary Contact” within the online grant system.
- An eligible Arts or Curatorial Collective must also:
  - Engage skilled artistic, curatorial, and administrative leadership for project or service delivery.
  - Not be applying on behalf of the activities of a for-profit business.
  - Fairly compensate artists, arts and cultural practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with project and community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice.
  - Follow international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols.

For more information, visit British Columbia Art Council.