Translation Support and Funding
Publishing Scotland Translation Fund
This fund is administered by Publishing Scotland on behalf of Creative Scotland. The purpose of the fund is to support publishers based outside the United Kingdom with the payment of translation fees to translate Scottish writers. Funding will be offered in the form of a grant in pound sterling (GBP) and is for translation costs only.
Applications for Round Two of the 2023/24 Translation Fund are now closed. The first round of the 24/25 Translation Fund will open in June.
If you have any questions regarding the fund or your eligibility, contact Lucy Feather at lucy.feather@publishingscotland.org
About the Translation Fund
The Translation Fund was launched on 25 August 2015 at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It is administered by Publishing Scotland, on behalf of Creative Scotland. Its purpose is to support publishers based outside the UK to buy rights from Scottish and UK publishers and agents by offering assistance with the cost of translation of contemporary Scottish writers. The funding will be received in the form of a grant.
Priority will be given to the translation of contemporary literature, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, writing for children and graphic novels. Assessment criteria will also include the merit of the work to be translated, financial need of the publisher, track record of publisher and translator, and the proposed marketing plan. An expert panel will meet twice a year to assess applications.
The Translation Panel
The panel comprises: Katalina Watt (Literature Officer, Creative Scotland), Kay Farrell (Acquisition Editor, W. F. Howes), Annie Rutherford (Writer, Translator, Project Manager), and Publishing Scotland’s Marion Sinclair (Chief Executive) and Lucy Feather (Member Services Manager).
Publishing Scotland Translation Fund previous projects
For details of the writers, books and publishers supported by the funding, see our Grants Awarded page.
Support for translation of foreign works
Many individual countries have support for the translation of foreign works into other languages. They may therefore be able to support the translation of foreign works into English, Scots or Gaelic. See our Translation of Foreign Works information page which lists some of these organisations.
Other countries’ support
Other countries also run schemes that support the translation of their literature into other languages. Worth checking if an author has links with more than one country. Eg Creative New Zealand supports the translation of New Zealand literature into foreign languages with the Translation Fund scheme administered by the Publishers Association of New Zealand. These grants can contribute up to 50% of the translation cost to a maximum of 5,000 NZD per title.