The overview of grant opportunities contains a detailed description of the conditions and steps for each grant. Before submitting the application, carefully read through the regulations. It describes, point by point, the conditions an organization must meet and the criteria by which the project will be assessed.

The Model Contract creates clarity for all parties, and can be found on the website of the Authors' Association.

Make sure that all public communications related to the subsidized literary project include the name and logo of the Dutch Foundation for Literature. You can find the logo in the downloads.

Applicants living in Belgium should submit their application to Literatuur Vlaanderen. If you live in another country, but your translation is published in Dutch by a Dutch publisher, you can apply to the Letterenfonds.

The scope of your translation is stated in your contract: in the case of prose in number of words, in the case of poetry in number of lines and/or poems. If you are working on a translation together, the division in number of words will also be stated in the contract. You can only apply for your part of the translation.

When preparing a Model Contract for literary translations, the number of words in the original language is normally considered to determine the translation fee. But for languages that are very different from Dutch, this is not always fair; for example, languages that are written in characters (Chinese, Japanese) or agglutinating languages (Hungarian, Turkish). It is common then to determine the word count in the contract according to the (expected) size of the text translated into Dutch and not according to the word count of the source text. Keep this in mind when drafting your contract. The Authors' Association can provide general guidelines for different languages.

For your application, it is also important to know that positive decisions are based on the number of words (or: lines/poems) in the translation contract. This cannot be changed or adjusted later.

If the translation you are doing is quite difficult, you can apply for an additional fee in addition to the basic grant. You will have to provide an explanation as to why it is so difficult. Because it is sometimes difficult to know how difficult the translation is when you are just starting out, you may take up to six weeks after the application period deadline to apply for or justify the extra allowance. Important: You will only receive an allowance if you applied for it yourself.

A justification for a difficulty supplement ideally consists of two parts: a translated excerpt and the corresponding excerpt from the source text (1-2 pages together), as well as an explanation of the translation choices made and the problems you encountered in doing so. You can highlight examples of difficulties in the translated fragment and add comments. You can also choose not to select one translated fragment, but to list the translation problems point by point and quote an example sentence/short example fragment (source text + (preliminary) translation) for each point.

To determine the translation problems, you may want to use this checklist:

• Does the sentence structure require much inventiveness on the part of the translator?

• Does the text contain key terms that are difficult to translate?

• Does the text contain many different genres?

• Does the text contain major or subtle register differences, dialect or self-deprecating language?

• Is there much play with sound effects?

• Does the text contain realia or references that require additional research or inventive transposition?

These text characteristics do not necessarily make a translation above average in difficulty.In determining the degree of difficulty, the advisory committee also considers the frequency, complexity and diversity of translation problems and takes into account linguistic differences and the distance between source and target cultures.

The Dutch Foundation for Literature may offer financial support to a publisher for a maximum of four titles per genre by the same author or illustrator. If the author or illustrator switches to a different publishing house, previously published titles do not count toward this limit. The number of titles by the author/illustrator that may be eligible for support remains four per genre per publisher. In exceptional circumstances, financial support may be provided to a single publisher for more than the usual limit of four titles per genre by an author/illustrator. If you have any queries, please contact us before submitting your application.

The subsidy is based on the standard translation rate (in eurocents per Dutch word) in the relevant country, with a specified limit per country or region. This limit corresponds to the subsidy granted by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. Any amount exceeding this limit is the responsibility of the publisher.

In the case of poetry, the subsidy is based on a maximum fee of € 3,- per line (including titles, and with a € 50,- per poem minimum).

For illustrated children’s literature, graphic novels of exceptional quality, and poetry, an additional production subsidy may be granted. The maximum for poetry is €1,400, and for illustrated literature, it is €2,800.

Publishers are requested to mention explicitly in their application any other organizations they have approached for a subsidy, including, if possible, the sum requested or granted, and for what costs the subsidy is granted. Should translation costs already be covered by another subsidy, the amount granted by the Dutch Foundation for Literature will be adjusted.

Application for a grants should be made by the foreign publisher, by means of the application form. The requested documentation should be attached to your reply to the confirmation e-mail that you’ll receive after filling in the online form. The Foundation aims to ensure that its decision is made known to the applicant within twelve weeks.

The granted sum will be paid to the foreign publishing house upon book publication and the receipt of agreed complimentary copies. The Dutch Foundation for Literature requires the publisher’s bank statement confirming the translator's payment as per the contract. Direct payments to the translator are allowed only for urgent reasons, requiring a written statement with the initial application. Note that the beneficiary cannot be changed post-subsidy approval.

An experienced translator living in the Netherlands can apply for a supplementary payment in addition to the fee from the foreign publisher, up to a maximum of 7 euro cent per word. This additional fee is dependent upon the quality of the translation.