Grants for international promotion of Swedish literature and drama

Grants can be applied for by legal persons* who conduct or organise professional literary activities. This may include publishers, festivals, embassies, associations, or other organisations.

*) Legal person is a legal term for an association that has its own legal capacity, i.e. can acquire rights and assume obligations. A legal person can enter into agreements, own assets, and incur liabilities. The legal person can also act as a party in court proceedings.

You can apply for grants to fund activities aimed at promoting the international dissemination of high-quality Swedish literature and Swedish drama, as well as promoting international exchanges in these areas.

Travel and accommodation costs, fees, marketing costs and other costs in connection with the event or project, such as translation costs, are eligible for a grant. You can also apply for grants to cover costs in connection with information campaigns aimed at promoting Swedish literature internationally.

You cannot apply for this grant to fund translation of licensed editions of Swedish works or licensed performances of whole dramatic works. In these cases, you shall apply for the Grant for translation of Swedish literature and drama.

Events or projects that take place before the application deadline for the current grant round are not eligible for grants.

Applications are open all year round, but submitted applications are evaluated four times a year. 

Please note that your application must be received by the Swedish Arts Council no later than 24.00 on the last application date. If your application is submitted outside of the application period or after the deadline, it will be evaluated in the next application round.  

Your application is submitted online, via our online service. Applications must include a project description, a budget, aims and objectives. Your budget must clearly specify the costs for which funding is applied. Incomplete applications not fully amended within the application deadline will be treated as late submissions.

Copy of the application form

Please note that the form may be changed. The copy should not be posted.

Copy of the application form

The applications are assessed by a team of expert senior advisors at the Swedish Arts Council's office. The assessment team examine each individual application in relation to other applications and discuss the allocation of the support as a whole. The Head of the Department for Literature and Libraries decides on the final distribution of the grant. Decisions will be taken by the Swedish Arts Council up to six weeks after the application deadline and communicated to you by e-mail. There is no appeal against the decision. 

When the Swedish Arts Council assesses applications, the primary starting point is the relevance of the application in relation to the purpose of the grant, i.e., to promote the international dissemination of Swedish literature and drama.

The application is assessed based on how well the applicant has described the purpose and how they intend to carry out the event or project. The professionalism of the applicant's activities and any previously completed projects are also assessed. In the assessment, the Swedish Arts Council considers the project's financial needs and the support as a percentage of the total budget.

When the amount applied for exceeds the available funds for the application round, the assessment team applies the priorities established by the Swedish Arts Council:

The age of the work: The Swedish Arts Council prioritises the promotion of contemporary literature and drama, but grants can be awarded to events or projects related to older literature.

Language: The Swedish Arts Council prioritises the introduction of authorship in countries where they have not previously been widespread.

Economy: The Swedish Arts Council's goal is to contribute to creating good conditions for artistic creation. Therefore, priority is given to applications where compensation is paid to participants.

Diversity: As a whole, the grant shall support the dissemination of a diverse range of Swedish literature and drama with respect to genres, countries, languages, and authorship.

Guidelines

Guidelines for grants for international promotion of Swedish literature and drama

General conditions

Terms and conditions for those who are awarded a grant from the Swedish Arts Council

General conditions

The report is made on a special form, no later than on the date stated in the decision and in the conditional annex attached to the decision. If the project is postponed and it is not possible to make the presentation on time, the applicant shall notify the Swedish Arts Council hereof in good time. The Swedish Arts Council will then decide whether to grant an extension of the reporting period.

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Report form