Applications for the 2020 awards under the National Book Council’s new, revamped Malta Book Fund are now open until June 30.
The fund, developed to foster cultural growth in the local book market, is this year being increased in scope and value to a total of €105,000, encompassing two distinct categories funding the publication and the translation of books.
All Malta Book Fund grants adhere to the provisions of the Writers’ Charter of Economic Rights and are open to works of fiction, non-fiction and academic research. The grants will be awarded to successful applicants following a competitive adjudication process.
The relatively small size of the local book market limits the capital available for quality publications, research and development, translation and marketing. This means local authors, translators and publishers are faced with the dilemma of either curtailing more ambitious projects or taking huge financial risks in pursuing them. The National Book Council hopes that the Malta Book Fund will encourage authors, translators and publishers not to shun projects on the grounds of commercial viability, and boost confidence in the pursuit of new projects and initiatives.
The fund is being increased in scope and value to €105,000
Applications may be submitted for publishing and translation grants, for which there are two categories: Translation of Maltese books and Translation into Maltese.
This year a total of €50,000 worth of publishing grants are available to support the publication of quality literature and/or works of research. Preference will be given to ambitious projects of high cultural value and relevance to the target local market, particularly if such projects face limitations relating to commercial viability.
The grants support applications for the publication of original works of fiction, including novels, poetry, drama, biographies, literary non-fiction and graphic novels, as well as academic and scholarly books, including monographs, edited collections, and critical editions.
Books based solely on imagery or photography are ineligible.
€40,000 worth of translation grants are this year available to support the translation of Maltese books into any other language, with the aim of increasing the international visibility of Maltese creative and academic writing. The original books may be published in the Maltese or English language with a Maltese ISBN.
€15,000 have been allocated to a separate funding category to fund the translation of books from any other language into Maltese, thus supporting Maltese language translators bringing international works of literature and research to the Maltese-reading public.
The guidelines and regulations regarding eligibility and the evaluation process together with the application form may be accessed and downloaded from the website below.
All grants awarded by the Malta Book Fund may support up to 100 per cent of a proposed project up to a maximum of €5,000.
An adjudication board will evaluate each project to ascertain the value of each project and its funding requirements. The order of classification of applications submitted will be published within four weeks from the application deadline.
The call for applications closes on June 30 at noon.