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How public funding could help the circulation of translated books
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02.3 | Public support for international networking and sales Direct financial support to publishers is essential to cover the additional translation and promotion costs linked to the publication of translated works. However, public support can help the book sector in many other ways, including:
support for the networking and training of publishers (e.g. fellowships);
support to publishers or agents to cover international sales and promotion expenses;
promotion and representation at major international events and fairs.
which provide a first port of call for expert advice and support in specific territories. Fellowships range from the long-established Frankfurt Buchmesse Fellowship Programme to those tied to a literature festival, for example HeadRead (Estonia), or those hosted by a national translation funding organisation, such as that run by NORLA in Norway or the Finnish Literature Exchange (FILI) in Finland. Fellowships normally last between 5 days and 3 weeks. The objectives of the fellowships usually include some or all of the following:
to present an in-depth showcase of the PUBLIC SUPPORT SHOULD ALSO INVEST IN FELLOWSHIPS, IN ORDER TO BUILD CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND TRUST BETWEEN PUBLISHERS FOR A MORE EFFICIENT TRANSLATION MARKET For a publisher, identifying and choosing a book for translation is a complex operation. It requires a good knowledge of the various literature scenes in Europe and across the world, and an extensive network including foreign publishers, agents, translators, public agencies, etc. Fellowships present key networking opportunities for those involved in the publishing and translation sectors. In the book sector, fellowships usually involve a (publicly supported) organisation inviting a group of foreign publishers or agents to discover national authors or publishers. They offer an opportunity for foreign and domestic publishers to explore new trends or models of good practice, and allow for a review of current practices in light of shared experiences. The lessons learned from these fellowships often inform translation and funding policy practices in the years that follow. Critically, the relationships forged during such fellowships create strong and lasting bonds,
contemporary national literature sector;
to provide opportunities for bilateral and multilateral information exchanges between foreign publishers and local publishers, or between funding agencies and foreign publishers;
to create a context in which local writers can meet foreign publishers and festival directors, for example Passa Porta (Brussels) and the Istanbul International Literature Festival (ITEF);
to create the conditions in which the seeds for transnational cooperative projects can be sown;
to provide continuous professional development opportunities for translators, commissioning editors, festival programmers and funding agencies where information exchange, professional dialogue and market presentations result in new and better, more targeted, initiatives to promote cultural cooperation and the circulation of books;
to enable younger entrants to the sector to meet and learn from each other and from more senior and experienced players;
