Selection of translated books with a Scottish connection
Above are some examples of foreign-language books which have
been translated into English, Gaelic or Scots and published in
Scotland, and Scottish books which have been translated into other
languages from English, Gaelic or Scots.
Publishing Scotland Translation Fund
This fund is administered by Publishing
Scotland on behalf of Creative Scotland.
The purpose of the fund is to support publishers based outside the
United Kingdom with the payment of translation fees to translate
Scottish writers. Funding will be offered in the form of a grant
and it is for translation costs only.
Round two of 2020/21 will be announced later in the
year. Round 1 of 2020/21 closed on 14 August 2020.
Queries about the fund should be directed to Lucy Feather,
Member Services Manager: lucy.feather@publishingscotland.org.
About the Translation Fund
The Translation Fund was launched on 25 August 2015 at
the Edinburgh International Book Festival. It is administered by
Publishing Scotland, on behalf of Creative Scotland. Its purpose is
to support publishers based outside the UK to buy rights from
Scottish and UK publishers and agents by offering assistance
with the cost of translation of contemporary Scottish
writers. The funding will be received in the form of a grant.
Priority will be given to the translation of
contemporary literature, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry,
writing for children and graphic novels. Assessment
criteria will also include the merit of the work to be translated,
financial need of the publisher, track record of publisher and
translator, and the proposed marketing plan. An expert panel will
meet twice a year to assess applications. For more details, see the
Press Release of 25 August 2015. There is a
list of previous projects funded below.
The Translation Fund Panel
The panel comprises: Alan
Bett (Creative Scotland), Robyn
Marsack (former Director of the Scottish Poetry Library),
Rebecca de Wald (Literature Programme Producer,
Cove Park), and Publishing Scotland's Marion
Sinclair (Chief Executive) and Lucy
Feather (Member Services Manager).
Publishing
Scotland Translation Fund previous projects
For details of the writers, books and publishers supported
by the funding, see our Books supported by
the Translation Fund page.
Publishing Scotland/Cove Park Translation Residency 2019
This year's Publishing Scotland translation residents at
Cove Park are Brazilian translator Stephanie
Fernandes and French translator Ghislain
Bareau. Stephanie will be working on her translation of
Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
For more information, see the Cove Park website.
Support for translation of foreign works
Creative Europe and many individual countries have support for
the translation of foreign works into other languages. They may
therefore be able to support the translation of foreign works into
English, Scots or Gaelic. See our Translation
of Foreign Works information page which lists some of these
organisations.
Other countries' support
Other countries also run schemes that support the translation of
their literature into other languages. Worth checking if an author
has links with more than one country. Eg Creative
New Zealand supports the translation of New Zealand literature
into foreign languages with the Translation Fund scheme
administered by the Publishers Association of New Zealand. These
grants can contribute up to 50% of the translation cost to a
maximum of 5,000 NZD per title.
Lost in Translation 2018
On 18 September 2018 Creative
Scotland, Creative Europe Desk
UK-Scotland and Publishing
Scotland invited key players in the process to gather
and discuss how translated fiction can benefit the Scottish
publishing sector, along with its offering to our readers. The
event took place at the French Institute in Edinburgh and you can
find out more about it on the Creative Scotland website.