Grants for Foreign Publishing Houses in Support of the Publication Costs of Works of Hungarian Literature in Translation

Grants for Foreign Publishing Houses in Support of the Publication Costs of Works of Hungarian Literature in Translation

The Petőfi Literary Fund (hereinafter referred to as “PLF”) invites submissions for the “Grants for Foreign Publishing Houses in Support of the Publication Costs of Works of Hungarian Literature in Translation” from publishers of Hungarian literature and prose in foreign languages, thus helping to familiarize international audiences with works written in Hungarian.

1.  Target group

We invite applications from publishing houses outside of Hungary of books or periodicals which publish illustrated Hungarian works, works of literature, or academic prose in a foreign language.

2.   Expectations for applicants

Under this call for submissions, applicants can submit proposals for two kinds of grant:

  1. Applicants can request support for the publication of a richly illustrated book (a children’s book, an art album, a cookbook, etc.) originally written in Hungarian. 
  2. Applicants can request support for the publication of a book of fiction or essays originally written in Hungarian. The work to be published may be a contemporary or classical work of fiction from any genre or a work of scholarly prose in a field of the humanities.

The applicant undertakes to have the work translated, published, and distributed. The applicant also undertakes to include in the published volume the logo of the PLF and a one-sentence statement in Hungarian and in the language in which the book is published to the effect that the publication of the volume has been made possible with the support of the PLF.

One applicant can submit no more than two applications for a given grant.

3.   Amount available under the call for proposals

Maximum amount per application: gross 1 000 000 HUF

PCF will conclude a cooperation agreement for the projects that have been awarded grants.

The award is provided after publication of the works in question, i.e. the applicant must undertake to pay in advance the costs (including the translator’s fee) necessary for the publication of the book.

The publisher will confirm the publication of the book by sending 10 copies to the PLF.

4.   Framework of the call for applications

Available budget: gross 10 000 000 HUF

The deadline for applications is 30 September 2021.

Please note that applications submitted after the deadline will be automatically excluded from the evaluation process. Applicants may submit any missing materials specified in a notice concerning missing materials up to but not after the deadline.

Notification of the decisions concerning the applications: 30 October 2021.

The deadline for publication of the selected work and submission of the statement of accounts is 30 November 2023.

The PLF reserves the right to make changes to the dates above before these dates have been reached in particularly justified cases, and will publish a separate notice concerning any such changes.

5.   Formal application requirements, documents

Documents required for submission of an application in English or Hungarian:

  • Application form (attachment 1 - signed, scanned, PDF format)
  • Short introduction of the publisher submitted in PDF format
  • The translator’s curriculum vitae and list of publications submitted in PDF format;
  • A short presentation of the work to be translated explaining the importance of translation and publication in the country of publication, submitted in PDF format;
  • A budget detailing the publication costs.

Applications for the grants presented in this call for submissions must be sent exclusively by e-mail, accompanied by the documents specified above, to the following e-mail address: applications@plf.hu (please indicate the title of the application in the subject line).

For further inquiries and information in email contact Mária Hajba: maria.hajba@plf.hu

6.   Evaluation and assessment of applications

All applications will be assessed at the same time after the deadline for submission.

Applications will be evaluated by a committee of specialists appointed by the PLF, and the committee will make recommendations concerning the decisions regarding the available grants. On the basis of the recommendations of the committee, the decision will be made by the Director General of the PLF.

The committee of specialists will take the following criteria into consideration when making its recommendations:

  • Whether the work is of significant merit in its field and thus is worth publishing in translation;
  • Whether the budget plan has been made with accurate consideration of market prices;
  • The qualifications and achievements of the translator who has been chosen for the project;
  • Critical assessment of the work which has been proposed for translation and its potential place on the international book market.

The PLF will conclude cooperation contracts with applicants who have been awarded grants.

7.   Attachments

1.   Attachment: application form 

Application form - production grant
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