Applications open for Translation Funding Programme

The Goethe-Institut promotes culture and the arts in every discipline. They provide funding to enable professional as well as newcomer and amateur artists, whether in groups or individually, to carry out projects in Germany or abroad. In addition to grants for projects and translations, they award scholarships, prizes and fellowships.

Funding Information

• If a grant application is approved, the Goethe-Institut reimburses the publisher with a share of the translation costs after publication of the translated work, usually approx. 40-60%. Full payment of translation costs or financing of licensing, printing or editorial costs is not envisaged.
• The maximum amount per book is 8,000 Euros.
• The sum applied for should correspond to the fee agreed to in the signed translation contract with the translator. The total sum of the fee must be paid to the translator, regardless of the amount that the Goethe-Institut has granted. The translator must confirm having received the full amount before a reimbursement of the grant can take place.
• The funding commitment is valid for three years, the expiry date is specified in the funding contract.

 What they fund?

• They fund translations of works written in the German language and published in printed form by a publisher in a German-speaking country. The translation must be made from the original German text.
• The translation must not go to print before the funding agreement has been signed.
• Books from the following genres are eligible for a grant application:
  • Literary fiction, poetry, picture books, comics and graphic novels for adults, children and young adults.
  • Non-fiction and essays on current, social topics relevant to contemporary discourse in Germany and in the target countries.
  • Scholarly works of general interest and overarching relevance to current discourses in the fields of the humanities and social sciences.
• The grant scheme aims to support the translation of contemporary works. Priority will be given to translations of the work of contemporary German authors into languages where there are no or few previous translations of that author’s work or other German literature.
• Canonical literature can only be considered if the respective text has not yet been translated or if the applicant presents valid reasons for a new translation in the project justification.
• Irrespective of genre, the work for which a subsidy is being applied must be of high literary quality in terms of style, form and content. The quality of the publications to be translated will be assessed by the jury.
• Translations by translators who have relevant experience in translating from German or have completed professional training in translation will be supported. The quality of the application will also be assessed based on the following criteria concerning the applicant publisher: quality of the programme (backlist, current catalogue), quality of previously published translations, book design, distribution network, etc.

Ineligible Funding 

• Light fiction, crime novels
• Specialist scholarly works (e.g. doctoral / postdoctoral theses), reference books, study materials, textbooks, commemorative publications,
• Sheet music,
• Yearbooks, books of local interest, exhibition catalogues,
• Hobby books, craft books, handbooks, cookbooks, and travel guides
• They do not fund the translation of foreign-language books into German.

Whom they fund?

• They fund international professional publishers who wish to translate German-language books. Any publishing house applying for this grant must have both well-documented experience of publishing quality literature and professional distribution channels.
• Neither translators nor authors may apply for translation subsidies through this support scheme.

For more information, visit Goethe Institut.