Travel Grants for Professional Writers
Deadline
Any time
There are no deadlines for these grants, but applications must be submitted prior to applicants’ date of departure. Applicants are advised to submit their request three months ahead of time if they wish to have the results before their departure date.
Program Description
Travel Grants enable writers, translators, spoken word artists and storytellers (individuals) to respond to invitations that are important to their artistic development and career, such as:
- being a keynote speaker at an international conference or convention
- participating in a large international festival
- being the guest of honour at an important book fair
- receiving official international honours or prizes
- attending a book launch by a foreign publisher
- attending a residency in an artist colony.
This program covers international travel only. At the national level, only the participation in residencies is eligible.
Promotional tours and literary readings abroad are eligible only if they are tied to a book launch. For promotional tours or book launches in Canada, eligible publishers can receive support from the publishing support programs of the Canada Council for the Arts.
For literary readings and participation in festivals in Canada, eligible organizations can receive support from the Literary Readings, Literary Festivals and Author Residencies program of the Canada Council.
Screenwriters need to refer to the Travel Grants to Media Arts Professionals program.
Playwrights may need to apply to the Travel Grants to Theatre Artists program if the event is not tied to a book launch or the type of event listed above.
International literary festivals may request financial support from the Audience and Market Development Travel Assistance program to assist Canadian authors to participate in their activities.
Eligibility
Applicant Eligibility
Applicants must be Canadian citizens or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Canadian citizens need not be living in Canada when they apply.
Applicants must be recognized professional writers who have had:
- at least one book published by a professional publishing house OR
- for fiction, a minimum of four texts of creative writing (e.g., short stories, excerpts from a novel) published on two separate occasions in literary magazines, recognized periodicals (including general interest magazines) or anthologies published by professional publishing houses OR
- for poetry, a minimum of 10 published poems OR
- for literary non-fiction, a minimum of 40 pages (10,000 words) of articles published in literary magazines, recognized periodicals or anthologies that are published by professional publishing houses.
Only literary publications for which the author has received financial compensation and that have gone through an independent editorial selection process will be considered when determining eligibility.
Canadian professional writers working in all languages and literary artists working in oral traditions are also eligible. They must be recognized as professionals by their peers (artists who work in the same artistic tradition), have specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions) and have been paid for their work.
Translators are eligible if they have completed a degree in translation or have had at least one literary translation published by a recognized publisher.
Professional spoken word artists or professional storytellers are eligible to apply to this program. Professional spoken word artists or professional storytellers are those who have been paid in the past for their public literary performances or are recognized, in writing, by two established spoken word artists or storytellers.
Rap poetry, spoken word and storytelling artists (individuals) are eligible to apply for travel assistance for a showcase or one-off performance at a key international festival and/or event. Artists must submit confirmation of their performance from their host, along with confirmation of the performance fee. Artists must receive a fee to be eligible for assistance.
All eligible activities must be literary in nature.
Applicants must have all overdue final reports submitted and approved for previous Canada Council grants before their application will be considered.
Ineligible Activities or Expenses
Privately printed publications, as well as writing published in community newspapers, free or student magazines, or newsletters of associations or other organizations are not eligible. Similarly, cookbooks, bibliographies, guides, manuals, indexes, catalogues, books on personal growth or practical works, reference or technical works, and commissioned works or books written for a private printing are not eligible.
- Attendance at book fairs are not covered (unless the artist is a guest of honour at an important book fair).
- Promotional tours, readings or performance tours are not covered (unless the event is tied to a foreign book launch or is with a large festival).
- Research for a writing project is not covered (but related expenses are eligible under the Creative Writing Grants component of the Grants for Professional Writers program).
- Upgrading in arts administration, academic work or work toward
s a graduate degree are not covered.
- Promotional tours or book launches in Canada are not covered. (Eligible publishers can receive support from the publishing support programs of the Canada Council.)
- Literary readings and participation in festivals in Canada are not covered. (Eligible organizations can receive support from the Literary Readings, Literary Festivals and Author Residencies program of the Canada Council.)
- Purely academic events are not covered, nor are residencies or workshops whose primary purpose is training.
Grant Amounts
Fixed amounts of $500, $750, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $2,500 are available to cover the applicant’s travel costs. The amounts of $2,000 and $2,500 are available only to applicants who are travelling to or from northern Canada or to international destinations other than the United States and Europe.
The grant covers airplane, train or bus tickets, taxis and shuttle-bus fares to and from airports or train or bus stations. Inter-city transportation is not eligible. The grant also covers subsistence costs (meal and accommodation) where necessary (a detailed budget is required).
Applications may include more than one destination as long as they are part of one trip (example travel from Toronto to the USA for one event and then to Europe for another, and return. Applicants must justify the amount requested.
Travel allowances are based on the cheapest available fares from applicants’ place of residence to the location where their project is taking place.
The Canada Council for the Arts will fund projects that are also receive funding from other public or private organizations, but not for the same expenses.
Application Form
Or
Further Information
Mona Kiame
Writing and Publishing Section
Canada Council for the Arts
P.O. Box 1047, 350 Albert Street
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 4016
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: 613-565-5194
Fax: 613-566-4410
March 2008