Production costs for special publications

The scheme supports original literary works in Dutch or Frisian across a range of genres, and in certain cases translations. It is open to distinctive literary publications in one of the following categories:

• Classics: Dutch- or Frisian-language literary heritage of enduring cultural value.

• Contemporary: original Dutch- or Frisian-language literary non-fiction of major importance and exceptional quality; Frisian-language literature; collected (theatre) works; literary graphic narratives and graphic novels; and literary history relating to relatively unknown foreign literatures in the Netherlands.

• Children’s and young adult: illustrated children’s and young adult literature of exceptional quality, and original works aimed at a small or hard-to-reach readership.

• Translated: the first two publications by a Dutch publisher of an author residing in the Netherlands for whom Dutch is not the mother tongue; translations of significant literary works from a dead language; translations into Dutch Sign Language; and anthologies translated from relatively unknown literatures, accompanied by a substantial introduction.

Applications are not eligible for the publication of unedited collected works or collected works of an incomplete oeuvre, commemorative or occasional publications, specialist professional or academic works, or works sold exclusively through a single bookshop chain or distribution channel.

Titles for which the author contributes financially to production, promotion or distribution costs, or is required to purchase a specified number of copies, are also not eligible for funding.

You are eligible to apply if you are a publisher established in the Netherlands, including the Caribbean Netherlands, or in Aruba, Curaçao or Sint Maarten, and you publish literary works on a continuous basis.

The final grant amount depends on the sales revenue achieved. The maximum grant is €20,000 per publication.

• The minimum print run is 500 copies. For Frisian-language literary works, the minimum print run is 300 copies. The publication must remain widely available for at least four years after publication. E-books must remain available for at least five years from the date of publication. The publication must not be a reissue.

• Applications may be submitted on a rolling basis. The application must be submitted to the Dutch Foundation for Literature at least thirteen weeks and no more than one year prior to publication of the book (or e-book). 

• The budget must be realistic, and the publication must not be commercially viable without the grant.

• The budget must be prepared using the costing form available in the downloads and, where applicable, accompanied by an explanatory note.

• A standard publishing contract (Model Contract) must have been concluded with the author(s) involved in the publication.