Translation Support Guidelines

Traduki supports the translation of fiction and non-fiction as well as children's and youth literature from the 20th and 21st centuries. Translation support by Traduki covers the costs of the license fee and of the translation fee in line with customary local rates.

Publishers can apply for translation support for:

  1. Translations from German into Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Romanian, Serbian and Slovenian;
  2. Translations from these languages into German;
  3. Translations between these languages;
  4. Translations of Swiss authors writing in Italian, French and Rhaeto-Romansh into Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Romanian, Serbian and Slovenian.

Publishers submit applications via our application system: applications.traduki.eu No other formats of application will be accepted after August 2020.

1. Formal criteria for translation support:

  • The application form must include all required information, all necessary supplements (see nr. 6 – Dossier) and must be submitted on time for the spring or autumn jury meeting. Deadlines for these are February 1st and September 1st of each year, respectively.
  • Publishers can submit up to 3 applications per jury term.
  • Only books translated directly from its original language into the target language are eligible.
  • Only submissions from professional, experienced and well-established publishers will be considered.
  • Only book titles that have not yet been translated into the target language are eligible.
  • A translation of a book title will be supported into only one of the following four languages: Serbian, Montenegrin, Croatian or Bosnian.
  • If a book title has already been translated into Serbian, Montenegrin, Croatian or Bosnian language, Traduki will not support a translation into any of the four languages.
  • Only books that are to be translated into the official languages of the country, where the publisher is based or has a subsidiary company are eligible for translation support.
  • Publishers can apply for translation support for books to be translated from (but not into) officially recognised minority languages of all countries participating in the Traduki network (e. g. a translation from the Hungarian is possible if the writer is a member of the Hungarian minority in Serbia, but translations into Hungarian are not eligible).
  • The maximum translation grant is 8,000 Euro (including both, the translation and the license fees).

2. Quality criteria:

  • Traduki supports contemporary fiction books, poetry, children's and youth literature, theatre plays and graphic novels of high literary quality in terms of style, form, content and other aesthetic factors.
  • Traduki supports non-fiction books that are relevant to the contemporary discourse in the source and target countries.
  • The quality of the (fiction or non-fiction) work to be translated is evaluated by the Traduki Jury, which may consult external experts.
  • Traduki supports translations by translators who have relevant experience in translating from the source language or have had professional education or training in the field of translation. Traduki may request a sample translation.
  • Traduki evaluates the quality of the applicant based on the following criteria: quality of the programme (backlist, current catalogue), quality of the published translations, book design, promotion effort, distribution network, etc.

3. Priority is given:

  • To books whose authors are being translated into the target language for the first time.
  • To books with specific political, historical or social connections to situations in the target country.
  • To books that receive strong promotional support by the publisher in the target country.

4. Excluded are:

  • publications for specialists and exclusively academic audiences; secondary literature, textbooks, self-help books,
  • publications that have already received translation support from other sources,
  • titles dealing with natural sciences,
  • authors translating their own works,
  • applications that have been previously rejected,
  • books spreading hate speech, such as nationalistic, racist or sexist opinions,

Modalities:

5.1. Modalities in case of approval

  • The applicant is informed within 1 month after the jury meeting.
  • Payment of the translation fee is made directly to the translator by Traduki.
  • Traduki informs the translation rights holder about the support given. The agreed license fee is paid directly to the rights holder by Traduki. However, the applicant must agree upon and sign the Memorandum of Agreement with the rights holder directly.
  • For translations to German, the payments are made to the applicant after the translation has been published and the applicant has paid the translation fee to the translator and the license fee to the copyright proprietor.
  • A supported translation is to be published 24 months after the positive decision by the programme commission.

5.2. Modalities in case of rejection

  • Publishers are informed about the decision within 1 month after the jury meeting.
  • Reasons for the rejection are not communicated.
  • The same application cannot be submitted again.

6. The submission to apply for Traduki translation support must contain:

  • All information requested on applications.traduki.eu and the respective documents: the signed copyright contract or option or letter of intent, the translator's CV and bibliography, a list of relevant backlist titles from the past 2 years.