General information
- Sample translations enable the promotion of Greek works by raising interest towards the entire work and its publishing in full.
- The call for expressions of interest for a translation grant concerning the sample translation of an excerpt from Greek into a foreign language is accompanied by an application form which is submitted online.
- The call for expressions of interest is addressed to domestic private and public legal entities, both ‘for-profit’ and ‘not-for-profit’, including but not limited to educational institutions, universities and publishing houses, as well as to individuals (natural persons), such as translators or literary agents, provided that they are already the holders of a license agreement for the use of this extract by the copyright and property rights holder of the work.
- The sample translation is uploaded on the website (www.greeklit.gr) with the consent of all the persons mentioned in paragraph 3 above, so as to become accessible to publishers and other interested parties abroad. At the same time, the interested persons mentioned in paragraph 3 above, will be able to approach foreign publishers and raise interest for the entire work’s translation.
- The sample translation for works of fiction (including poetry and children’s literature) may be from 10 to 20 pages long (1,800 characters per page).
- The sample translation for essays of over 100 pages may also be from 10 to 20 pages long (1,800 characters per page).
- For works of fiction (including poetry and children’s literature) and essays up to 100 pages, the submitted sample should cover at least 10% of the total number of pages of the original Greek version.
There are three (3) application periods per year. Applicants can submit up to three (3) applications per period.
Criteria
- The quality of the original Greek work.
- The quality of the translator’s work.
- The rationale for choosing the proposed work.
- Any relevant prizes and distinctions granted to the original work, such as the Greek State Prize for Literature.
- The promotion of new and emerging authors.
- The impact of the author’s work abroad.
- The elevation of the status of the Greek language and the Greek publishing sector internationally.
Funding and procedures
THE GRANT FOR SAMPLE TRANSLATIONS IS A FIXED SUM OF 500 EUROS
- The translation sample must be submitted within two (2) months of the signing of the relevant agreement with the Hellenic Foundation for Culture (HFC); the grant will be paid in full upon submission of the sample.
- Applicants will be notified of the Committee’s decisions regarding the approval of a sample within five (5) weeks of the submission deadline.
- Agreements between the HFC and publishers whose applications are accepted must be signed within six (6) weeks of the announcement of the Committee’s positive evaluations and decisions, whose contents are binding for the Board of the HFC.
Committee
- A five-member Committee is appointed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports (HMCS) to evaluate the applications received; the Committee will serve for a term of two years. The Chair of the Committee is also appointed by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports.
- Decisions are made by majority open vote of attending members. In the event of a split vote, the vote of the Chair shall prevail.
- The Committee’s proposals and decisions shall be recorded in the minutes and signed off by all its members.
- The members of the Committee:
- Nikos Bakounakis, professor, author (President of the Committee)
- Elisavet Kotzia, literary critic
- Charis Meletiadis, professor
- Sissy Papathanassiou, director of Literature, DG of Contemporary Culture
- Katerina Schina, author, translator
For a short CV of the members please click here.
For the application, please click here.
Application Dates
Three times a year: 20 September 2021, 20 January 2022, 20 May 2022.