Books from Poland

The ©POLAND Translation Programme, which is aimed at foreign publishers and provides funding for the majority of translation and rights purchase costs (and in case of illustrated books – also for part of printing and illustration costs), has already supported the publication of over 4,000 translations of Polish books.

However, before many works of Polish literature can make their way abroad, they need to be promoted: the Sample Translations ©POLAND Programme enables translators to translate excerpts of Polish books and present them to foreign publishers. The programme Publishing Proposals can also be of use here; it helps rights managers prepare their publishing presentations in foreign languages. Finally, the Non Stop – Polish Literature Abroad programme makes it possible to organise foreign events featuring Polish authors, and is open to writers, illustrators and translators as well as institutions wishing to host them.

We promote

Of course, our activity is not limited to grant programmes. Every year, we also organise the Polish stands at the most important trade fairs (Frankfurt, Bologna, London), supporting Polish publishers in their efforts to sell translation rights, and information stands at selected fairs worldwide (including Taipei, Leipzig, Prague, Turin and Shanghai). Fairs are the best opportunity to present the most important and interesting books which had gained recognition in Poland. Thanks to the catalogue New Books from Poland, which we publish annually, and the Polish Books for Children & Young Adults catalogue and various irregular publications, such as these devoted to graphic novels or speculative fiction, we want to show that Polish literature is diverse and can appeal to everyone; it is worth reading, translating and publishing.

We also invite publishers to Poland for our Seminars for Publishers, during which they have the opportunity to meet Polish authors, publishers and agents, which often results in book publications and long-term friendships. Every four years, we organise the World Congress of Polish Literature Translators, a great celebration of translators of Polish literature. Translators can also take part in the residency programme Translators’ Collegium in Cracow or Warsaw, where they can work on translations, explore libraries and meet authors and experts. We keep in touch with translators through our New Books from Poland newsletter: sent every quarter, it features short write-ups of new book releases.

We award

We also oversee scholarships and prizes – the most important of which is undoubtedly the Transatlantyk Award, presented yearly to an eminent ambassador of Polish literature abroad. Found in Translation, in turn, is a distinction with which we – together with the Polish Institute in London and the Polish Institute in New York – reward the best translation of Polish literature into English published in the previous year. The Anders Bodegård Scholarship is addressed to translators specialising in translation of Polish literature into Swedish or French, and the Albrecht Lempp Scholarship – founded in collaboration with the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation and Literarisches Colloquium Berlin – is awarded to writers from Poland and Germany and translators of Polish and German literature.

We should not forget about promoting Polish literature for children, which enjoys a great deal of popularity around the world and is regularly awarded at the leading events, such as the International Children’s Book Fair in Bologna. The Book Institute and a team of experts produces the Polish Books for Children & Young Adults catalogue, which includes the most interesting works of Polish literature for children and young adults.

Co roku z okazji Międzynarodowych Targów Książki we Frankfurcie przygotowujemy anglojęzyczny raport pt. The Polish Book Market, dostarczający branżowej publiczności wiedzy o rodzimym rynku książki.

As part of the Books from Poland programme, every quarter the Book Institute also prepares a special newsletter for translators of Polish literature from around the world. This includes the most recent months’ publishing news that might be of interest for foreign readers.

This programme includes promotional activities to improve the recognisability of Polish authors and literary works beyond Poland’s borders. These actions are pitched – depending on needs – to a wide group of readers through foreign media, or to profiled target groups using focused marketing tools.

Books From Poland is also a year-long promotion/information campaign on the www.booksfrompoland.pl platform, presenting all the tools we have to support foreign publishers interested in Polish literature. The extensive English-language web site not only presents the most compelling new publications from Poland, it also offers tools to promote Polish literature abroad, including an index of Polish publishing houses and literary agencies and a lexicon of Polish authors and translators of Polish literature.