Less and less high-quality world literature of our time is being published in Finnish language. Although the number of Finnish translations from the English-speaking world is comparably high, the number from other countries is low. The Finnish Cultural Foundation's Translating World Literature into Finnish – A grant for Publishers provides a form of funding for publishers to translate high-quality world literature into Finnish.
The aim of the Cultural Foundation is to enable publishers motivated by the grant, on top of their usual supply, to translate into Finnish and publish 100 contemporary masterpieces of world literature especially from countries outside the English-speaking world. The works to be translated may be prose, lyric poetry, or essays, aimed at the wider adult reading public interested in culture. The aim is to produce high-quality Finnish translations of high-quality original works.
The aim of the Cultural Foundation is to enable publishers motivated by the grant, on top of their usual supply, to translate into Finnish and publish 100 contemporary masterpieces of world literature especially from countries outside the English-speaking world. The works to be translated may be prose, lyric poetry, or essays, aimed at the wider adult reading public interested in culture. The aim is to produce high-quality Finnish translations of high-quality original works.
Grant Application Schedule
Applications should be submitted using the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Online Application Service during the March round of applications. Applications close at 4 pm Finnish time on the last day of the application period. The application period reopens annually.
Eligible Applicants
Translating World Literature into Finnish – A grant for Publishers accepts applications from registered organisations in the book publishing industry.
The contact person in the application need not have the authority to sign documents on behalf of the applicant, but should know the project and be reachable during the months following the application deadline. The contact person logs in to the service using their personal Finnish online banking credentials.
Private individuals, self-employed people working under a business name, or working groups consisting of private individuals are not eligible to apply for this grant.
Grant Purpose
The Translating World Literature into Finnish – A grant for Publishers may be applied for projects that aim to make high-quality translation, to be published in Finnish, of a contemporary literary masterpiece of world literature aimed at the wider adult audience interested in culture. The work may consist of prose, lyric poetry, or essays.
The grant may be applied for
• the purchase of publication rights,
• translation,
• and other possible expenses arising from the publication of the work, such as printing and various activities aiming to promote the visibility and publicity of the work.
If the translation of a work has already been funded, the Translation into Finnish Grant may be applied for the purchase of publication rights as well as for other possible expenses arising from the publication of the work
If it is not possible to translate the work directly from the original language, a grant may also be applied for translation via an intermediate language.
The grant being applied for must always be used to publish a printed book. The book must be published within 24 months of the decision to award the grant. The works funded by the Grant must include the Cultural Foundation logo and a mention of the Translating World Literature into Finnish Grant.
The Cultural Foundation's Translating World Literature into Finnish – A grant for Publishers may not be further distributed as a grant. For example, remunerations made out to the author of the original work or its translator must be treated as salary or income from business operations with its legal tax implications. This must also be taken into consideration in drafting the budget for the application.
The grant may not be used to cover expenses arising from the applicant's basic business operations (for example, the grant may not be applied to cover ordinary salaries of permanent employees or expenses from the use of the organisation's own premises). These costs may be included in the self-financed share of the project.
The Cultural Foundation is favourably disposed towards higher travel costs due to the journey taking place in a way that pollutes the climate and the environment as little as possible.
Application assessment criteria:
• quality of the work and the translation,
• the appeal of the work in the market from the point of view of the wider audience interested in culture,
• the original language region of the work, where works representing the non-English-speaking world will be given priority,
• a communication and marketing plan together with a schedule, i.e. the potential to gain visibility and publicity for the work and, in this manner, increase the opportunities of the wider audience interested in culture to read high-quality world literature in Finnish.
Types of Grants Awarded
The grant sum of the Translating World Literature into Finnish – A grant for Publishers can range from EUR 5,000 to EUR 15,000. Expenses other than the purchase of publication rights or translation can be awarded a maximum sum of EUR 5,000.
The grant is intended to be used for expenses incurring only after the grant has been awarded. The use of the grant may begin from the date of the decision to grant and may extend to a maximum of two years. A project that has been awarded the Translating World Literature into Finnish – A grant for Publishers is not eligible for a continuation grant.
A maximum of ten grants of this type can be awarded in each application round.
Application process and timetable
Applications should be submitted using the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Online Application Service during the March Round of Applications. Applications close at 4 pm Finnish time on the last day of the application period.
The applicants will be notified of the decisions to the email address submitted in their application by the end of May. The grant recipients will also be announced on the homepage of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. The Cultural Foundation does not give grounds for unfavourable decisions.
Awarded Grants
Along with the decision to grant, the applicants may be asked to alter their project plan before the use of the awarded grant may begin.
The grantee undertakes to act in accordance to the plan set forth in the application. If, for example, the key content of the project changes or the timetable is delayed from the one set forth in the application, the office of the Cultural Foundation must be contacted. Familiarise yourself here with the Guidelines for Grantees, which detail the obligations involved in using the grant.
The grant may not be transferred or donated to a third party.
The works funded by the Grant must include the Cultural Foundation logo and a mention of the Translating World Literature into Finnish Grant. The Cultural Foundation kindly appreciates being recognised as a funding party in any public communication or printed material related to the project. On social media, the Cultural Foundation suggests the use of the hashtags #maailmankirjallisuudensuomennostuki (#translatingworldliteratureintofinnish), #SKRkirjagalleria (#FCFbookgallery), and #kulttuurirahastontuella (#fundedbythefinnishculturalfoundation). A printable logo of the Finnish Cultural Foundation may be downloaded here.
The Finnish Cultural Foundation will catalogue all works translated with the Translating World Literature into Finnish on their homepage.
Reporting the Use of the Grant
A final report on the use of the grant must be submitted within 36 months from the date in the decision to grant on the Online Services for Grantees. The report must include the key content of the project, the print run and retail dealer sales volume of the work published with the grant, an account of the use of the grant itemised according to expenditure type, an estimate of the success of the project, and a possible plan for the continuation of the project.
This page was last updated on February 7, 2023.
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