Translation Grant

Translation Grant 

The aim of SZBA’s translation grant is to contribute to increasing the number of Arabic books that are translated, published and distributed abroad. Funding is available for translation of all literary and children’s titles that have won or have been shortlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.

DEADLINE:

Applications are accepted all year round. Notification is made after 2-3 months of application date.

FORMAL REQUIREMENTS: 

  • The applicant must be a publisher in a country other than the Middle East 
  • The signed contract between the publisher and rights holder for the Arabic edition, and between the publisher and translator must be included. 
  • Funding is available to world languages. The translation shall normally be carried out directly from Arabic. An exception can be made in the event of special circumstances, such as a lack of qualified translators from Arabic or that the book is already translated to English. SZBA may in some cases review the quality of the translation before the translation fund is paid. 
  • The quality of the book must be of an acceptable calibre and a quality assessment will be carried out by SZBA Scientific committee. The applicant must submit a promotional plan to the translated work.
SUPPORT MATERIALS:
  • Brief profile of your press and publishing mandate 
  • Budget 
  • Promotional plan 
  • An up-to-date biography of the translator(s), including relevant translation and publication credits

PROJECT COMPLETION:

  • Upon successful completion of the project, 100 copies of the translated work must be shipped to the Award's HQ. 

GRANT AMOUNT:

A maximum of approximately US$19,000 per title; plus a supplement, if applicable, to cover specific promotion and production costs:

  • Translation-related costs, up to a maximum of US$10,000 per title.
  • For translations of literary works, the cost of promoting the translated book, up to a maximum of US$5,000 per translated title
  • For translations of illustrated books containing at least 50% photos and/or illustrations (e.g. children’s books, graphic novels, illustrated books etc.), production costs per translated title of up to US$4,000 and promotion costs per translated title of up to US$4,000
PAYMENTS

If your application is approved, you will then need to register as a supplier with the Department of Finance, Abu Dhabi (instructions will be provided to you).
 
Payment will be provided upon the completion and submission of a final copy of the translated work to the Award’s Officer.

DECISION PROCESS:

The Scientific Committee of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award reviews all grant applications and makes the final decision about which applications to approve.

HOW TO APPLY:

Download the application form and email it with all the support materials required to grants@zayedaward.ae with the subject line “Translation Funding”

For further information on the fund, kindly review Sheikh Zayed Book Award "Rights Guide To Winning Titles" or contact us on grants@zayedaward.ae