Fetħu l-applikazzjonijiet għall-Fond Malti tal-Ktieb 2022. Il-Fond minn dis-sena żdied għal €120,000 bl-introduzzjoni ta’ għotjiet ġodda. Filwaqt li l-Fond għad għandu ż-żewġ kategoriji ewlenin ta’ għotjiet għall-pubblikazzjoni u għotjiet għat-traduzzjoni, dis-sena żdidulu żewġ għotjiet oħra – waħda għat-traduzzjoni ta’ silta minn ktieb bħala pitch u oħra għall-edizzjonijiet ġodda ta’ kotba mhux fl-istampa.
Fil-viżjoni tiegħu bħala aġent kulturali bi rwol progressiv li jimmira għall-iżvilupp kulturali, edukattiv, u intellettwali fis-soċjetà, il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb (KNK) fassal il-Fond sabiex jixpruna t-tkabbir kulturali fis-suq lokali tal-ktieb, bl-għan li jegħleb l-iżvantaġġi li jiffaċċja l-istess suq minħabba iċ-ċokon relattiv tiegħu. Dawn l-iżvantaġġi jillimitaw il-kapital disponibbli għal pubblikazzjonijiet ta’ kwalità, riċerka u żvilupp, traduzzjoni, u marketing.
Il-KNK qed jippubblika s-sejħa għall-applikazzjonijiet għat-tmien sena konsekuttiva bil-għan li jħeġġeġ awturi, tradutturi, u pubblikaturi lokali ma jżommux lura mill-proġetti ambizzjużi tagħhom u jieħdu r-riskji finanzjarji involuti biex iwettquhom.
Il-KNK qiegħed jirċievi l-applikazzjonijiet għal erba’ tipi ta’ għotjiet: Għotjiet għall-Pubblikazzjoni ta’ Kotba Ġodda; Għotjiet għall-Pubblikazzjoni ta’ Edizzjonijiet Ġodda ta’ Kotba mhux fl-Istampa; Għotjiet għat-Traduzzjoni (maqsuma fiż-żewġ kategoriji: Traduzzjoni ta’ kotba Maltin u Traduzzjoni għall-Malti); u Għotjiet għat-Traduzzjoni ta’ Silta minn Ktieb bħala Pitch.
Bl-għan li twieżen il-pubblikazzjonijiet ta’ letteratura ta’ kwalità u/jew xogħlijiet ta’ riċerka, ġiet allokata s-somma totali annwali ta’ €50,000 għall-Għotjiet għall-Pubblikazzjoni ta’ Kotba Ġodda. Tingħata preferenza lil xogħlijiet ambizzjużi li jkollhom valur kulturali għoli u relevanza għas-suq lokali b’mod immirat, partikolarment jekk dal-proġetti jkunu qed jiffaċċjaw diffikultajiet ta’ natura kummerċjali. Il-fondi jissapportjaw applikazzjonijiet għall-pubblikazzjoni ta’ xogħlijiet oriġinali ta’ finzjoni, fosthom rumanzi, poeżija, drammi, bijografiji, letteratura mhux fittizja, u rumanzi grafiċi, kif ukoll kotba akkademiċi li jinkludu monografi, ġabriet editjati, u edizzjonijiet kritiċi. Kotba li jkun fihom biss xbihat jew kotba tal-fotografija mhumiex eliġibbli.
L-Għotjiet għall-Pubblikazzjoni ta’ Edizzjonijiet Ġodda ta’ Kotba mhux fl-Istampa għandhom allokazzjoni ta’ €10,000 fis-sena, u qegħdin hemm biex iwieżnu l-pubblikazzjoni ta’ kotba tal-Melitensia fis-suq lokali. Dil-fergħa tal-Fond timmira li tnaqqas jew telimina d-defiċit li jeżisti bejn il-ħtieġa li l-klassiċi tal-kanonu letterarju Malti jinqraw u n-nuqqas tagħhom mill-ixkafef tal-ħwienet tal-kotba f’Malta. Għalhekk dal-fond jissussidja speċifikament dawn it-tip ta’ kotba li m’ilhomx mitbugħa minn tal-inqas 20 sena jew aktar mill-Fond Malti tal-Ktieb kurrenti. Fil-pakkett tal-applikazzjoni l-applikant irid jinkludi r-riċerka li għamel biex identifika d-detentur tad-drittijiet tal-awtur, pjan editorjali għal din l-edizzjoni l-ġdida u n-natura tal-proġett, u jressaq każ b’saħħtu biżżejjed l-għaliex din l-edizzjoni l-ġdida għandha ssib postha fuq l-ixkafef tal-ħwienet tal-kotba u tilħaq kemm jista’ jkun qarrejja.
Għall-Għotjiet għat-Traduzzjoni fi ħdan il-Fond Malti tal-Ktieb hemm allokata s-somma totali annwali ta’ €55,000 – €40,000 għal applikazzjonijiet għat-traduzzjoni ta’ kotba Maltin (ippubblikati bil-Malti jew bl-Ingliż u li jkollhom ISBN Malti) f’kull ilsien ieħor bil-għan li tiżdied il-viżibbiltà internazzjonali tal-kitba kreattiva u akkademika Maltija. Imbagħad €15,000 oħra se jkunu allokati għal applikazzjonijiet għal traduzzjonijiet ta’ kotba f’kull ilsien għal dak Malti, bl-għan li jitwieżnu t-tradutturi Maltin li jridu jagħtu aċċess lill-pubbliku biex jaqra bil-Malti xogħlijiet letterarji internazzjonali.
B’baġit annwali ta’ €5,000, u b’massimu ta’ €500 allokat għal kull proġett rebbieħ, l-Għotjiet għat-Traduzzjoni ta’ Silta minn Ktieb bħala Pitch iwieżnu dawn il-proġetti: it-traduzzjoni ta’ xogħlijiet Maltin ippubblikati f’Malta bil-Malti jew bl-Ingliż u b’ISBN Malti, fi kwalunkwe lingwa oħra; it-traduzzjoni ta’ xogħlijiet oriġinarjament ippublikati fi kwalunkwe lingwa oħra, lejn il-Malti; it-traduzzjoni ta’ xogħlijiet oriġinarjament ippubblikati fi kwalunkwe lingwa oħra bil-ħsieb li s-silta tradotta tintuża bħala traduzzjoni pont bl-Ingliż. L-applikant irid jiżgura li d-detentur tad-drittijiet tal-awtur ikun identifikat fl-applikazzjoni, liema identifikazzjoni tinkludi l-pitch innifisha.
L-Għotjiet fi ħdan il-Fond Malti tal-Ktieb isegwu l-proviżjonijiet tal-Karta tad-Drittijiet Ekonomiċi tal-Kittieba. Il-fondi jmorru għand dawk l-applikanti li jgħaddu minn proċess kompetittiv ta’ aġudikazzjoni. Bord indipendenti tal-aġġudikazzjoni jinħatar apposta biex jevalwa kull proġett fi proċess rigoruż li jaċċerta kemm il-valur tal-proġett kif ukoll ir-rekwiżiti finanzjarji. Il-fondi kollha mogħtija mill-Fond Malti tal-Ktieb jistgħu jiffinanzjaw sa 100% tal-proġett propost, b’għotja massima ta’ €5,000, minbarra dawk għall-Għotjiet għat-Traduzzjoni ta’ Silta minn Ktieb bħala Pitch li jingħataw sa massimu ta’ €500 għal kull proposta rebbieħa tal-Fond.
L-applikanti interessati huma mħeġġa jaqraw bir-reqqa l-Linji Gwida u r-Regolamenti tal-għotjiet rispettivi għal aktar informazzjoni dwar eliġibbiltà u l-proċess tal-evalwazzjoni qabel ma japplikaw. Il-Linji Gwida u r-Regolamenti, il-formola tal-applikazzjoni, u informazzjoni relevanti oħra jistgħu jitniżżlu mis-sit tal-Fond Malti tal-Ktieb.
L-ordni tal-klassifikazzjoni tal-applikazzjonijiet sottomessi tiġi ppubblikata fi żmien tmien ġimgħat minn meta jagħlqu l-applikazzjonijiet.
Is-sejħa għall-applikazzjonijet tagħlaq nhar l-Erbgħa 30 ta’ Ġunju 2022 f’nofsinhar.
Tislijiet,
Il-Kunsill Nazzjonali tal-Ktieb
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Malta Book Fund 2022 is now open for applications
Applications for the 2022 Malta Book Fund are now open. New to this year, the Malta Book Fund has a total value of €120,000. It still comprises of two main distinct grant areas funding both the publication and the translation of books, but as of this edition the Fund sees the introduction of two new categories funding the translation of book excerpts and the publication of new editions of out-of-print works.
As part of its vision to take the role of a cultural-agent within society and become a proactive and progressive contributor to the cultural, educational and intellectual development of our society, the National Book Council developed the Fund to foster cultural growth in the local book market, with the objective in mind to counter the effects of its relatively small size, which seriously limits the capital available for quality publications, research and development, translation and marketing.
For the eighth year in a row, the National Book Council is opening the public call for applications for the Malta Book Fund to encourage authors, translators and publishers not to shun projects on the grounds of lack of commercial viability, and to boost confidence in such initiatives and to ensure their fruition, in order to support local authors, translators and publishers who tend to either curtail their more ambitious projects or take the financial risks involved in pursuing them.
The National Book Council is currently receiving applications for four types of grants: Publishing Grants for New Books; Publishing Grants for New Editions of Out-of-Print Works; Translation Grants (divided into two categories: Translation of Maltese books and Translation of books into Maltese); and Book Translation Pitch Grants.
With the aim of supporting the publication of quality literature and/or works of research, the Publishing Grants for New Books are allocated the annual sum of €50,000. Preference is given to ambitious projects of high cultural value and relevance to the target local market, particularly if such projects face difficulties relating to commercial viability. The grants support applications for the publication of original works of literature, including novels, poetry, drama, biographies, literary nonfiction and graphic novels, as well as academic and scholarly books including monographs, edited collections, and critical editions. Books based solely on imagery or photography books are not eligible.
New to the 2022 edition, the Malta Book Fund Publishing Grants for New Edition of Out-of-Print Works, with an annual allocated budget of €10,000, form part of the National Book Council’s strategy to boost the publication of books in the local market by subsidizing the publication of books in Melitensia. This strand of the Fund aims at bridging the gap between the need to read classics and books of considerable cultural, educational and intellectual importance to society, and their unavailability in bookshops, with an eye to specifically subsidize the publication of new editions of books that are out of print and were published at least 20 (twenty) years before the launch of the current Malta Book Fund call. The applicant, who must ensure to include as part of the application pack the research outcome performed to identify rights holder of the book, must include an editorial plan for the new edition of the out-of-print work and illustrate the nature of the project, and make a case that the out-of-print book applied for under this Fund should find again its way into the publishing market, hit the shelves and reach as wide an audience as possible.
The Translation Grants within the Malta Book Fund are allocated an annual budget of €55,000 – €40,000 to support applications for the translation projects of Maltese books (published in the Maltese or English language with a Maltese ISBN) into any other language, with the aim of increasing the international exposure of Maltese creative and academic writing. Through a separate funding category, the annual sum of €15,000 is allocated to fund the translation projects of books from any other language into Maltese, thus supporting Maltese language translators in bringing international works of literature and research to a Maltese-reading public.
With an annual allocated budget of €5,000, for a maximum of €500 euro per book translation excerpt pitch application, the new Malta Book Fund Book Translation Pitch Grants supports applications for the translation of excerpts: of Maltese works published in the Maltese or English language in Malta with a Maltese ISBN into any other language; of works originally published in any other language into the Maltese language; of works originally published in any other language which are going to be pitched through an English language bridge translation. Applicants must also ensure to identify the rights holder in their application and must include a letter of agreement from the text’s author or the rights’ owner (or owners) for the text being translated. This identification has to include the book translation pitch.
All of the grants within the Malta Book Fund adhere to the provisions of the Writers’ Charter of Economic Rights. The grants will be awarded to successful applicants following a competitive adjudication process. A specially-appointed adjudication board evaluates each project to ascertain both the value of the project and funding requirements. All grants awarded may support up to 100% of the proposed project up to a maximum of €5,000 for all grants except the Book Translation Pitch Grants, which may support up to a maximum of €500 euro per pitch proposal.
Interested applicants are encouraged to carefully read the guidelines and regulations of the respective grants for information relating to eligibility and the evaluation process before applying. The guidelines and regulations, together with the application form and other relevant information, can be accessed and downloaded from the Malta Book Fund webpage.
The order of classification of applications submitted will be published within eight weeks from the application deadline.
The call for applications closes on Wednesday 30 June 2022 at noon.