Literary journals

High-quality literary journals serve as a springboard for both established and emerging talent. They provide a space in which writers can develop their work and new ideas are given room to flourish. Journals also offer editors the opportunity to refine their editorial skills and present themselves to the public, and to the publishing sector in particular. Literary journals not only reflect what is happening in society; they also actively shape our understanding of literature and the world.

To enable literary journals to further develop and professionalise, it is essential to provide stability and financial security over a longer period. As in the 2021-2024 period, grants may therefore be awarded for a term of four years. The annual grant amount per journal has been increased from €15,000 to €20,500. Additional funding has been made available to expand the originally more limited budget for the 2025-2028 period. This additional funding derives from the fair pay resources made available by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) to the national cultural funds, Basic Infrastructure (BIS) institutions and museums under the Heritage Act. For this reason, the Dutch Foundation for Literature now requires journals, for the first time, to adhere to the following minimum rates for authors’ and illustrators’ fees. These are absolute minimum amounts, and journals are encouraged to exceed them where possible:

• Original prose: €0.10 per word

• Original poetry: €75 per poem

• Translated prose: €0.075 per word

• Translated poetry: €55 per poem

• Illustration: €75 per illustration (new category)

To strengthen the position of literary journals within the literary field, the Dutch Foundation for Literature asks grant recipients to contribute to the development of, and actively participate in, a sector-wide collaboration for literary journals, modelled on VLAM21. The Foundation will take the first steps towards this initiative in 2025.

Editorial teams are expected to apply the Fair Practice Code and the Cultural Governance Code, and to describe how they relate to the Code for Diversity and Inclusion. In doing so, the Foundation adopts a principle of increasing ambition, appropriate to the context in which the journals operate.

Over the four-year period, the Foundation will hold monitoring meetings with the journals to discuss progress and the achievement of the objectives formulated for 2025-2028.

• Literary journals (in Dutch, Papiamento or Frisian) that are legal entities established within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and operate on a not-for-profit basis.

• Journals with an overly limited focus are not eligible to apply. Professional, academic and membership publications are also excluded, with the exception of journals aimed at the professional practice of literary translation.

• The journal must have been published continuously since at least 1 March 2023, with an annual volume of at least 48 pages and a publication frequency of at least twice per year (for print journals), or at least forty new literary works per year and a regular publication schedule (for digital journals).

• At least one other party must act as a co-financier; the Dutch Foundation for Literature cannot be the sole funder.

• The journal must have a professional editorial team consisting of more than one person. The editorial team is responsible for the acquisition and selection of submissions and for editing and proofreading all material prior to publication.

• At least half of the published contributions must be literary in nature, and the contributions must not be written primarily by members of the editorial team.

• Grants are awarded in a single round and cover a four-year period. Each journal receives €82,000 in total, equivalent to €20,500 per year.

• A maximum of 50% of the grant may be used to cover costs other than payments to authors, illustrators and the editorial team.

Your application will be assessed by an advisory committee composed of members of the Advisory Council and external experts. The aim is to communicate the funding decision before the end of the year, and no later than 22 weeks after receipt of the application.

The advisory committee assesses applications on the basis of the following:

• the literary quality of the journal;

• the editorial plans, audience reach and long-term vision;

• the quality and financial viability of the business plan.

When you start your application, you will be asked to enter your details and upload the required supporting documents. A key attachment is the completed application form, which can be found at the bottom of this page. The Foundation will only consider complete applications. If your application is found to be incomplete, you will have two weeks to submit the missing information. If the application remains incomplete after that period, it will be formally rejected.

If the decision is positive, half of the total grant awarded will be paid within four weeks of the written decision.

• It is advisable to read the scheme and the application form carefully in advance (see downloads below). These set out the conditions you must meet and explain how you are required to account for the grant afterwards. They also describe the criteria used by the advisory committee in assessing your application.

• Please note: applications that are not submitted using the prescribed forms, or that are incomplete, will not be taken into consideration.