The ©POLAND Translation Programme

The ©POLAND Translation Programme seeks to promote Polish literature in the world – it is geared towards foreign and Polish publishers interested in publishing Polish books in other languages. The following categories qualify for the programme:

• literature (prose, poetry and dramas);
• works from the humanities past and present, in their broadest definition (with particular consideration for books on Polish culture and literature, but not including works of a standard specialist/academic profile);
• non-fiction (literary reportage, biographies, memoirs, essays);
• literature for children and young people;
• comics.

The Book Institute’s financial support may cover part of the costs of publishing a work, including:

• the translation of a work from Polish into another language;
• the purchase of copyright licenses;
• the print costs of the work in the case of children’s literature, comics, graphic novels or richly illustrated works.

Priorities for 2026 are Scandinavian languages and Italian.

The competition is open to publishers with capability and experience in publishing and distributing books in the language sphere in question, intending to publish works of Polish literature into other languages and distribute them in print form and/or as an e-book and/or as an audiobook outside of Polish territory.

Submissions are made electronically through the form available on the Book Institute web site (in the ‘How to apply?’ section). The director of the Book Institute ultimately determines whether a contract will be signed with the publisher. Should the submission be accepted, the Book Institute will sign a contract with the publisher for the publication and distribution of the work.

The work must be published and paid by the publisher by the deadline indicated in the submission. This deadline can not be earlier than 1 January of the first calendar year following the submission deadline, or later than 30 October of the second calendar year following the submission deadline. In the event that the publisher has chosen a deadline for publication and payment of the work in the first calendar year following the submission deadline, it may not be later than 30 October of that year.

In special circumstances, if the Book Institute should have unused funds for the programme in a given year, with the consent of the director of the Book Institute it is possible for the publisher to publish and receive funding for a book the year the submission is made, though no later than 30 November of the year in question.

The publisher may apply for the deadline for publication and payment of the work in the submission to be extended, with the written approval of the director of the Book Institute, until 30 October of the second calendar year after the submission deadline, so long as the application is made by 30 June of the year in which the original publication and payment deadline has elapsed. After the deadline for publication and payment of the work has passed, all the Book Institute’s obligations to the publisher expire.

Submissions to the ©POLAND Publishing Programme should be made through the on-line form in the submission period, found at:  https://ptcp.bookinstitute.pl

To fill in the form correctly and attach the documents necessary, please prepare:

• information on the book to be published: the author, title, original publisher, original year of publication, and, in the case of selections and anthologies, a list of pieces to be included in the book;
• information on the translator: contact information and list of past translations;
• information on the costs of purchasing the rights (a non-refundable down-payment contained in the contract with the rights owner);
• information on the translation costs: the number of standard, 1,800-character pages (with spaces) for prose, or the number of poems for verse, as well as the fee for one standard page of translation or one poem;
• information on the print costs: the number of copies and the cost of printing one copy (only in the case of illustrated books for children and comics);
• information on the applicant: the publisher’s profile and/or publishing catalogue;
• the plan for promoting and distributing the book;
• a scan of the signed contract with the copyright owner;
• a scan of the signed contract with the translator.

Costs of purchasing the rights and translation must clearly match the contracts attached.

Calls take place every year on the following dates:

• first call: February – March,
• second call: June.

This year, we are pleased to be introducing a new IT system for submitting applications to the Copyright Poland Translation Programme.

To get started, simply create an applicant account. After logging in, you will be able to complete the application form, which will be active only during the call for applications. The form will look familiar—it is similar to the one you have used before. Your account will also allow you to receive notifications if corrections or additional information are required, which will help to ensure a smoother evaluation process.

There are also several changes in the form designed to help you submit an error-free application:
The first is the author and translator database: the author should be selected from a list. If the author is not on the list, the publisher should add them to the database, then select and approve them. The same procedure applies to translators: select from the list, and if the translator is not there, add them to the database, then select and approve them.

This change has been implemented to avoid errors in spellings of names and surnames.

A new element in the form concerns the motivation (Why do you want to publish this book?) for publishing the book in question. A short and specific explanation about why this particular work was chosen will be sufficient. We know publishers are best informed about readers’ expectations in their countries; this description will help us prioritise the most thoughtful and well-prepared projects.

Minor changes also concern reprints of previously published titles. In these cases, we also ask for a justification.

Please remember that the translator@instytutksiazki.pl mailbox has a no-reply status. Do not reply to messages sent from this address. Please direct all questions to the programme coordinators: Beata Górska-Niec b.gorska@instytutksiazki.pl or Marta Skiba m.skiba@instytutksiazki.pl.

To receive payment for the work, the publisher shall provide the Book Institute with:

• seven copies of the printed work, featuring the Book Institute logo and information that the book was published with support from the Book Institute – detailed instructions are in the contract;
• one invoice from the publisher to the Book Institute for publishing services rendered, providing the gross cost, i.e. with all the relevant taxes, in the currency and to the amount set in the contract;
• written information about the print-run of the published work and its distribution.

After the Book Institute has confirmed that the contract has been fulfilled, the Book Institute’s financial contribution, specified in the contract under ‘publication costs’, will be transferred in the currency mentioned in the contract to the publisher’s account, as indicated in the invoice.

The publisher is also obliged, by a deadline of ninety days from receipt of financing, to effectively provide the Book Institute with signed declarations from the translator and copyright holders or other proof to confirm the payment of fees stipulated in the contracts signed between them and the publisher. Furthermore, the publisher is obliged to submit an invoice from the printer’s with print-run details or other relevant proof to confirm the print-run of the published work.