Project Assistance: Literary Arts Grant Program in Canada

Deadline: 22-May-25

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

Funding Information

• Maximum funding amount: $25,000

Eligible Projects 

• Eligible Projects: Literary Organizations
  • Eligible literary organizations or collectives may apply for either:
    • A single literary arts activity or event or a single stream of artistic programming. Some examples are a reading series, a writer in residence program, or a writing workshop. Or
    • A specific programming expense or component. Some examples are fees for artists, costs to ensure that programming is accessible, or venue costs.
• Eligible Projects: Arts Periodicals
  • Eligible publishers of periodicals may apply for direct costs for up to one year of publishing activity.
  • An eligible arts periodical must:
    • Feature the first publication of original content.
    • Prioritize work by writers and artists based in B.C. or Canada.
    • Include content created by more than one person.
    • Provide clear submission guidelines and editorial selection processes.
    • Have and honour a clear policy on the use of contributors’ work and intellectual property.
    • Identify, on the masthead or equivalent, who is responsible for editorial decisions.
  • Print periodicals must: 
    • Be printed on paper.
    • Have a minimum average of 24 pages per issue over a one-year period.
    • Have paid circulation of a minimum of 20% of the copies printed.
  • Electronic periodicals must: 
    • Have paid subscription access to content, maintaining an average of 100 subscribers over a period of 6 months.
  • Eligible Projects: Book Publishers 
    • Book publishers may apply for up to three eligible books to be published in one year.
    • An eligible book must:
    • Be an original work and/or first edition (no reprints) in cloth, paper, or digital format. First-time translations of Canadian-authored books into English, French, or Indigenous languages are eligible if the translator is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
    • Be a work of literary, artistic, or cultural importance.
    • Be written and/or illustrated by Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
    • Contain at least 50% Canadian-authored or -illustrated content.
    • Be published for a trade market and be accessible to a general reading audience and not exclusively intended for a specialized audience, including academic or professional.
    • Have a contract with the author and/or illustrator for an industry-standard royalty agreement or fee in lieu of royalties
• Eligible Project Expenses – ALL Applicants
  • Eligible Project Expenses include:
    • Author and artists’ fees and/or royalties, production costs, marketing and promotion expenses, travel and/or accommodation expenses related to an eligible event or activity.
    • Editorial, production, circulation, marketing, and promotion costs for eligible books or periodicals.
    • Sales, distribution, and administrative costs if directly related to an eligible publication.
    • Expenses related to making the project accessible to audience members and project participants (other than the applicant) who are Deaf or experience disability.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible, an organization must be:
  • 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. for at least one year prior to application with:
  • The majority of key staff and board members based in B.C.
  • Creative control and decision making for programming and engagement primarily maintained within the organization and by leadership based in B.C.
  • A purpose or mandate dedicated to arts and culture programming and activities.
  • Or
    • A purpose or mandate to provide services to the arts and culture sector in B.C.
    • Operations and activities that reflect this dedicated purpose or mandate.
  • Or
    • A B.C.-based, Canadian-owned book publisher that has been a legally registered company in B.C. for at least one year.
  • Or
    • 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 nonprofit society or community service co-op in B.C. for at least one fiscal year.
• All eligible organizations must:
  • Not currently receive Operating Assistance from the BC Arts Council.
  • Provide public arts and culture 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 before the application closing date.
  • Engage and compensate skilled artistic, curatorial, editorial and/or administrative leadership 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 nonprofit society members.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are not eligible to apply for this grant:
  • Organizations currently receiving BC Arts Council Operating Assistance grants.
  • Arts and culture organizations eligible within BC Arts Council Community Arts Organization grant programs.
  • Book or periodical publishers that do not pay contributor fees or royalties.
  • Private or for-profit entities (except in the case of for-profit book publishing companies).
  • Member-funded societies.
  • Social service organizations

For more information, visit BC Arts Council.