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| | | Description
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“French
Voices”: what is it?
The
French version of World Voices! To make contemporary French voices
available to American readers through translation—books to be
read and debated by American readers eager to explore new forms and
ideas.
What’s
the objective of this program?
To
ensure that 30 contemporary French books are translated in the United
States by the end of 2008.
Who can
participate?
If you are a literary
agent, editor, or translator, and you already have a translated sample
of a French book—but you do not necessarily have a contract
with an American publisher—, fill in the application form and
send it back to us.
What’s
to be gained by participating?
To help
offset the financial risks associated with distributing translated
texts in the American marketplace, the publisher of each selected
project will receive $6,000. If a project without an American publisher
is selected, we will do our best to support it by identifying and
making overtures to a suitable partner. In 2006, one in three books
that received grants had no American publisher; they found one thanks
to the French Voices grant and through our efforts.
Who chooses
the books?
A committee of French and
American professionals meets several times a year to read and discuss
the works submitted for consideration. The committee is headed by a
representative from the Book Office at the Cultural Services of the
French Embassy’s and comprises:
- Esther
ALLEN (Columbia, Center for Literary Translation)
- Olivier
COHEN (L’Olivier)
- Emmanuelle
ERTEL (translator, NYU)
- Stéphane
GERSON (NYU, Institute of French Studies)
- Siri
HUSTVEDT (writer)
- A.
KAISER (translator)
- Suzanna
LEA (agent)
- Elisabeth PEELLAERT
(translator)
- Jeannette SEAVER
(Arcade Publishing)
- Frédéric
VIGUIER (NYU, Institute of French Studies)
- Alyson
WATERS (translator, Yale)
Why speak of
“a collection”?
The
books will be published by different publishing houses, but there will
still be a coherent thread. To establish this coherence, a
French Voices logo will appear on every book included in the
series. To attract as many readers as possible, especially
those who may be more hesitant to choose translated texts, each book
will contain a short preface by a notable American author who will
explain the book’s main ideas and themes.
In
2006, seven titles have been selected by the committee. In fiction,
Jean Echenoz’ Ravel,
Leonora Miano’s L’Intérieur
de la nuit, Véronique
Ovaldé’s Déloger
l’animal and Abdourahman A. Waberi’s Aux Etats-Unis
d’Afrique. In non-fiction, André
Comte-Sponville’s L’Esprit
de l’athéisme, Amin
Maalouf’s Origines
and Malika Zeghal’s Les
Islamistes marocains.
In 2007, five
titles have been selected by the committee. In fiction, René
Belletto’s Coda,
Céline Curiol’s Voix sans issue,
Annie Ernaux’ La
vie extérieure. In non-fiction, Pierre
Bayard’s Comment
parler des livres que l’on n’a pas lus ?,
Maurice Blanchot’s Ecrits
politiques.
Seven additionals titles for 2007 have been selected: Muriel Barbery’s, L’élégance du hérisson,
Yasmina Khadra’s, Cousine K, Lyonel Trouillot’s, Les enfants des héros,
Tanguy Viel’s, Insoupçonnable, Marie Darrieussecq’s,
Le bébé, Frédéric Pajak’s, Le chagrin d’amour, Jean Starobinski’s, Les enchanteresses.
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| | Selection criteria
| - The
quality of the translation
- It
must be a French book published no earlier than 2000
- The
quality of the French book
- Innovative
content and literary forms
- Possible
reception in the American book market (i.e.: would an American reader
buy this book in translation?)
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| | Terms & Conditions
| Application
for support may be submitted by publishers, agents, or translators,
until February 22, 2008,
after which the Committee will make its selection of the projects to be
supported in 2008.
Please note that once grants are
awarded, projects must
have both contracts (French publisher/American publisher and American
publisher/Translator) signed within
three months of notification in order to receive payment.
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| | | | | Requested documents
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1.
A 10-12 page, double-spaced sample of the translation
2. The
same passage in French
3. A one page statement outlining the
work and describing its importance
4. A bio/bibliography of
the author
5. A CV of the translator
6. A copy of
the contracts between:
The
translator and the American publisher
The French publisher and the American publisher.
If
the project is not yet under contract: a letter from the copyright
holder stating that English-language rights to the book are available.
If
the book has already an American publisher, please indicate the planed
release date for the book in english.
Applicants
should submit two copies
of this documentation,
two copies of the book to be translated, as well as an electronic version of the
complete application file saved on a CD or a floppy disc,
to:
French Cultural Services,
French
Voices
972 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10075
Please
specify on the envelope whether the project is Fiction or Non-Fiction.
Electronic submissions cannot be accepted.
Download
the application form: Pdf
file | Doc file
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| | | | Description
| Financial
assistance for American publishers is available through the Cultural
Services of the French Embassy in the United States. The assistance
program for publishers registered in the United States was launched by
the "Sous-direction du Livre" of the French Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, and is now administered by the Book Office at the French
Embassy in the United States. It assists projects, which are not
already supported by the Centre national
du livre, and allows publishers whose applications have met
our selection criteria to receive financial help. The grant awarded for
each work varies from $1,000 to $6,000. |
| | Terms & Conditions
| This program
supports books that have not yet been published and which are not
supported by the "Centre national du livre" (French Ministry of
Culture). The application should be addressed by February 15 each
year for the first session, or by July
15 for the second session to the following address:
Literary
attaché
Cultural Service of the French
Embassy
972 Fifth Avenue,
New York, NY 10075,
USA
! The deadline for submitting an application is July 15th, 2008.
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| | | | | Requested documents
| 1.
The amount of the translation grant that you would like to obtain in
order to implement your publishing program.
Please specify expected date of
publication on your application.
2. An
evaluation of the total cost of publication specifying the cost of
translation, and expected income and expenses. Please include the
expected grant amount in the income column. It must be a balanced
budget. A sample budget may be provided upon request.
3.
A presentation of the work to be translated
4. A
copy of the book in French
5. A copy of the contract
with the translator
6. A copy of the
translator’s résumé
7.
A copy of the contract with the French publisher regarding assignments
rights
8. A copy of the latest catalogue of your
publishing house
9. A copy of a document proving the
for-profit or not-for-profit status of your publishing house (including
an extract of the 501(c) 3 IRS form)
10. A copy of
the by-laws (not-for-profit institutions only)
11. A
document vouching for your capacity to talk in the name of the
publishing house
If
you have already received a Hemingway grant you will need to provide as
well:
12.
A balanced budget with the amount of the received grant appearing in
the income column for the previous recipient of the grant
13.
A copy of the book translated or a copy of the catalogue mentioning
that book
If
you are selected to receive a Hemingway Grant the following documents
will be requested:
14. A document
containing all relevant banking information (preferably a cancelled
check) in order to issue the check to the correct bank account
15.
A contract signed between the Cultural services and your publishing
house ***
And if the amount awarded does
not match the original request:
16. A letter from your
publishing house asking for the amount of the grant that has been
decided upon
17. A corrected balanced budget with
the amount of the grant appearing in the
income column
***The
contract mentions the following information:
–The
financial support of the French Cultural Services for the publication
for the
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| | | | Description
| Designed to support
translation of French books into other languages, it does not cover
works in the public domain, scholastic books, practical manuals and
handbooks, or periodicals. The grants cover the cost of translation per
se, not costs incurred for production or promotion. The commission
meets twice a year, in March and September. For those works, which it
selects, the commission proposes a subsidy ranging between 20% and 50%
of the cost of translation. |
| | Terms & Conditions
| French publishers
who hold rights to the works in question submit the application to the
French Ministry of Culture. Subsidies range between 20% and 50% of the
cost of translation. Applications are filled out in French and in
liaison with the French publisher who holds the rights. The translated
work must be remitted to the Centre national du livre (CNL) within
thirty six (36) months of the decision to grant the subsidy. The grant
is paid upon receipt of a copy of the published translation and of an
acknowledgement of payment signed by the translator.
The
work in translation must appear with the following statement: "This work is published with
support from the French Ministry of Culture/Centre national du livre."
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| | | Contacts
| Please
contact the French publisher who will submit your application to the
CNL and will inform you of the deadlines.
For further information consult
http://www.centrenationaldulivre.fr/
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