Literary events and projects

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.

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.

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.

The committee pays special attention to supporting organizers who think innovatively and creatively, and who have an eye for groups in society that typically don't seek out literature.

A fundamental premise for the Committee for Literary Project Funding is that artistic quality is, in essence, human-made. This does not exclude the use of technology in limited support functions or as part of creative experiments, but it implies that the creator cannot merely be a post-editor of machine-generated text or machine-generated illustrations.

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.
• How the organizer will specifically reach out to and engage groups in society that don't typically seek out literature.

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.

Please read our guidelines before submitting your application.

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

• Mandatory template with information about the application and budget
• Bank form with information about payment, either the form for wire transfers to countries using IBAN or the form for wire transfers to countries NOT using IBAN.

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. 

You will receive a reply to your application no later than 12 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.

Decisions are made in accordance with section 3(1), cf. (2) and (3) of Danish Act no. 458 of 8 May 2013 on the activities of the Danish Arts Foundation [§ 3, stk. 1, jf. stk. 2 og 3 i Lov nr. 458 af 8. maj 2013 om Statens Kunstfonds virksomhed].

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.