Literary events and projects

Deadline: 12.02.2025, 2:00 PM

Support for literary events and projects that focus on Danish literature and authors, as well as mentor support and network support for translators.

Det er ikke desværre ikke muligt at ansøge på mobilen med vores nuværende løsning.
Note:

This programme has two annual deadlines. The deadlines in 2025 are February 12th and September 3rd.

We'll open for applications no later than a month before the deadline.

Who may apply?

Organisers of literary events, initiatives and literature presentation projects for children, young adults and adults. The project must be based on Danish literature. Translators and publishers may apply for mentor support for translators, and translators may apply for network support.

ATTENTION: Due to an error in the system some of the translation in the application form has been lost.
Download a translated guide for the Grant Portal.

YOU CAN APPLY FOR GRANTS FOR:

  • Festivals and events, the purpose of which is to promote Danish literature, authors and illustrators
  • Literature presentation projects with a Danish artistic focus
  • Network support for translator networks
  • Mentor support for translators (a fixed amount of DKK 6,000)
  • Research travel for foreign translators, agents and publishers
  • Other literary events and initiatives

YOU CANNOT APPLY FOR GRANTS FOR:

  • Projects in which the literature belongs to the realm of research, education, regional and local history, handbooks, self-help and lifestyle books, dictionaries, catalogues, or similar literature.
  • Projects that were carried out and finished before the expiry of the application deadline.

Purpose of the program

The purpose of the Danish Arts Foundation is, among other things, to further literature and access to literature in Danmark as well as further Danish literature abroad.

With this programme, the Committee for Literary Project Funding wants to strengthen high-quality, literary events and initiatives abroad.

How your application will be evaluated?

Formal requirements

In order to apply for support, you must fulfil the following formal requirements:

  • The authors, illustrators and translators involved must have published at least one work in Danish.
  • Events with audiences must be available to the public and they must be clearly announced. 
  • With regard to applications for mentor support, the translator or publisher may apply for a fixed amount of DKK 6,000 for the course of a concrete translation project. 
  • With regard to applications for network support, the committee supports activities in local networks of translators who translate from Danish. 

Quality

Applications that live up to the formal requirements are then assessed based on the artistic quality of the project. The committee looks at the project that is applied for as a whole in order to assess its artistic quality. Depending on the nature of project, the committee's assessment of the quality of the project includes the following considerations:

  • The literary quality and talent of the artists involved. When assessing the literary quality, the committee examines artistic and personal necessity and looks for professional and linguistic ability. The willingness to try out new themes and expressions is considered to be positive, just as cultural and societal relevance are.
  • The project's purpose and expected effect.
  • How the project relates to target groups.
  • How the project relates to trying new artistic formats, for example, in the meeting between authors and audiences.

Spreading of art support

The committee prioritises the geographic spreading of the support. Special priority is given to supporting events and initiatives that have poor conditions for attracting a large audience or obtaining financing from other sources.

The committee prioritises supporting projects that are to a lesser degree assessed as being able to manage financially by themselves.

The committee reserves the right to accommodate the application with a smaller amount than what was applied for. The distribution is based on an assessment of the application in relation to the total range of applications, the funds set aside and the wish to ensure diversity and spreading of art support.

Sustainability

Danish Arts Foundation encourages applicants to incorporate green sustainability into their work.

What must the application contain

You submit your application through our Grant portal, which you can find on this page.
Once you have created your profile on our Grant portal, you may enter or leave the portal at any time to check whether all of your attachments and information are there before you submit the application.

YOU MUST ATTACH THE FOLLOWING ATTACHMENTS

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

  • The attached attachments must not be larger than a total of 25 MB.
  • Attached material may only be accepted in the following formats: PDF, Word, MP3 and MP4. We do not accept ZIP files.
  • You may not send further attachments, but within the application period you may revise your application and submit a new version (for the same case). If your application lacks attachments or information, you must send a new, complete application.
  • It is always the latest submitted application that you have sent us that will be processed by the committee.
  • Your application must contain all mandatory attachments in order to be processed by the committee. Further material in addition to what is described in the application guidelines will not be included in the assessment of your application.
  • You are responsible for completing the application form correctly yourself, and you are also responsible for ensuring that all of the attachments wanted are attached.
  • You may not transfer your application – and any grants – to another legal person or company. It is therefore important that you clarify who the applicant is before submitting your application.

How much you may apply for?

The committee considers self-financing projects and projects that are partially funded by other sources to be positive, because it is extremely seldom that the committee finances projects fully.

The size of the support varies and depends on the concrete project, but only in a few cases will the support amount to more than DKK 100,000 for a project, also based on the consideration that the art support must benefit as many applicants as possible. 

PAYMENT

For applicants with foreign bank accounts, a completed bank information form must be attached, either the form for wire transfers to countries using IBAN or the form for wire transfers to countries NOT using IBAN.

If you are a Danish citizen, organisation, or business and receive a grant, you must have a NemKonto available for the payment transfer. We transfer all grants to the NemKonto linked to the Danish CPR/CVR number you state in the application. If you, for example, apply with a new CVR number, you have to make sure that you have linked it to a NemKonto. You have to do this before a potential grant is awarded.


If you have moved out of Denmark according to the Danish Customs and Tax Administration’s definition, or if you are a foreign applicant, you are able to have a potential grant transferred to a foreign bank account.

If you receive a grant of:

  • DKK 100,000 or less, we pay the grant as closely as possible to the start date you have stated in your application. You should therefore make sure that the start date you enter matches the date of the first expenses for your project.
  • more than DKK 100,000 with a project period longer than six months, we pay the grant in instalments.

We are required to report your grant to the Danish Tax Agency. This is regardless of whether and how you are to be taxed of the grant. The vast majority of our grants are reported with labour market contributions (AM-bidrag).

When

You will receive a reply to your application no later than eight weeks after the application deadline through your case in the Grant portal.

During the period until then, all applications will be made ready and sent to the committee, after which they will be read and processed.

When you have submitted your application

When you have submitted your electronic application, you will automatically see a receipt on the screen. You will not receive an email.
Throughout the entire process, you can see your application in the portal under 'My applications'.

It is your responsibility that the necessary attachments are included in the submission – so please remember to review your application carefully. If anything is missing, you can send a revised version for the same case. This version 2 must be complete; for example, you must send all attachments.

All communication between us about your case takes place through the Grant portal.
 

Commitment

When the Danish Arts Foundation awards grants, it is important to us, and not least legally required, that the money is used for exactly what you have described in your application and budget. Therefore, you must report to the Agency for Culture and Palaces according to certain guidelines. How you report depends on how large the grant you have received is. Read more about reporting/presentation of accounts.

Who will evaluate your application?

It is the Danish Arts Foundation's Committee for Literary Project Funding that assesses the applications and makes the final decision about who is to receive grants.

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