Sample translations from Danish

Danish and foreign publishers and agencies.

Note: In order to ensure the spreading of art support, you may apply for support for a total of four sample translations. 

YOU CAN APPLY FOR GRANTS FOR: 

• Sample translation of a Danish work into a foreign language.
• A fixed grant of DKK 8,000 is awarded for a 40-page sample translation when the original work is 100 pages or longer.
• A fixed grant of DKK 3,000 is awarded for sample translations of illustrated literature or when the original work is fewer than 100 pages.

YOU CANNOT APPLY FOR GRANTS FOR: 

• Sample translations of works that the committee assesses belong to the realm of research, education, regional and local history, handbooks, self-help and lifestyle books, dictionaries, catalogues, or similar literature.
• Sample translations of your own works or text revisions.
• Projects that were carried out and finished before the expiry of the application deadline.

The purpose of the Danish Arts Foundation is, among other things, to further literature and access to literature in Denmark as well as further Danish literature abroad.

With this program, the Committee for Literary Project Funding wants to support Danish and foreign publishers and agencies that want to pay a translator for a sample translation of a current Danish work. The purpose of the sample translation must be to assess if there’s interest in a full translation and publication.

A fundamental premise for the Committee for Literary Project Funding is that artistic quality is, in essence, human-made. This does not exclude the use of technology in limited support functions or as part of creative experiments, but it implies that the creator cannot merely be a post-editor of machine-generated text or machine-generated illustrations.

Quality

The committee assesses the project that is applied for as a whole in order to assess its artistic quality. The committee's assessment of the quality places emphasis on:

• The literary quality of the work. When assessing the literary quality, the committee examines artistic and personal necessity and looks for professional and linguistic ability. The willingness to try out new themes and expressions is considered to be positive, just as cultural and societal relevance are.
• The work's current interest. As a rule, the committee gives priority to works by living authors rather than deceased ones unless an authorship has new life and current interest.
• The qualifications of the translator, including that the translator is experienced and translates into his or her mother tongue.

Spreading of art support

When prioritising between a number of applications that are worthy of support, the committee may choose to prioritise projects and applicants who have not previously or have received support to a more limited degree. If there is more than one application from the same applicant, the committee reserves the right to prioritise between the applications. The Committee does not prioritize applications regarding sample translations to Swedish or Norwegian as the Committee presumes professional Scandinavian publishers can understand Danish.

Please read our guidelines before submitting your application.

You must submit your application through the Grant portal, which you can find on this page – we do not accept physical material.

Once you have created your profile on the Grant portal, you may enter or leave the portal at any time to check whether all of your attachments and information are there before you submit the application.

YOU MUST ATTACH THE FOLLOWING ATTACHMENTS

•    Sample translations from Danish – information about the application 
•    Danish text sample of the original work (5-8 pages)
•    Bank form with information about payment, either the form for wire transfers to countries using IBAN or the form for wire transfers to countries NOT using IBAN. 

The committee awards a fixed grant of DKK 8,000 for a 40-page sample translation when the original work is 100 pages or more. 

The committee awards a fixed grant of DKK 3,000 for sample translations of illustrated literature or when the original work is fewer than 100 pages. 

Co-financing is expected from the applicant. The grant may only be used to pay the translator’s fee.

You will receive a reply to your application no later than 12 weeks after the application deadline through your case in the Grant portal.

During the period until then, all applications will be made ready and sent to the committee, after which they will be read and processed. 
 

Decisions are made in accordance with section 3(1), cf. (2) and (3) of Danish Act no. 458 of 8 May 2013 on the activities of the Danish Arts Foundation [§ 3, stk. 1, jf. stk. 2 og 3 i Lov nr. 458 af 8. maj 2013 om Statens Kunstfonds virksomhed].

It is the Danish Arts Foundation's Committee for Literary Funding that assesses the applications and makes the final decision about who is to receive grants.