Sample Translations ©Poland

The Sample Translations ©POLAND programme aims to promote Polish literature abroad. Through the programme’s support, translators can introduce Polish books to foreign publishers. The programme is addressed to translators of Polish literature. The Book Institute finances up to twenty pages of a sample translation of a chosen text (maximum 1,800 characters).

The translator submits an application, attaching:

• the completed application form (see: Materials to download);
• the motivation for choosing the book in question;
• a plan of action;
• the translator’s bibliography.

The translation fees offered by the Book Institute are the average fees in the country of the translator in question. The translator sends the Book Institute the translation by e-mail no more than thirty days after receiving information that financing has been approved. The Book Institute reviews applications on a rolling basis (and does not evaluate the translation’s quality).

The Book Institute reserves the right to use the translation in its promotional materials (print, on-line etc.). Should the book be published, the publisher is to be informed that the Book Institute expects support information to be found within. Receiving a grant does not eliminate the possibility of a book receiving further support as part of the ©POLAND Translation Programme.

Six months after the grant is awarded the Book Institute may request information about actions taken by the translator to publish the book – failure to answer this request will result in the translator being denied application for the grant in the  future.

If the translator submits more than one application, they are obliged to inform the Book Institute about their applications’ hierarchy of importance. The translator may submit up to three applications annually; in exceptional cases, the Book Institute may approve additional grants.

Conditions for participating in the programme:

• the translator has published at least one translation from Polish in book form before submitting an application;
• the proposed translation is the first book translation into the given language and has not been previously published;
• the book falls into the category of literature or essays or is a work of the Polish humanities, past or present (with special preference for books on the history of Poland and its culture and literature), children’s and young adult literature, or is a graphic novel/comic.

Applications in which the translator mentions initial interest from a potential publisher receive additional points.

The Book Institute may set additional preferences for certain language regions in a given calendar year.