New OzCo grants for editors, publishers of mid-list authors
The Australia Council for the Arts has announced new grants for Australian editors and for Australian publishers of mid-list authors.
The editorial professional development and cultural leadership grants will assist editors to attend editing and professional development courses in Australia or overseas.
Grants of up to $15,000 can be used towards course fees, mentoring costs, freelance editing costs, and travel and accommodation costs, but cannot be used for the Residential Editorial Program, which already receives Australia Council support. Projects must be undertaken between May 2014 and June 2015.
Editors must have a minimum of two years’ experience as an editor and have edited at least five full-length manuscripts in the areas of fiction, literary nonfiction or poetry for adults or children, or at least eight issues of a literary magazine or journal.
The Australia Council has also established grants for Australian publishers to publish and promote titles by mid-list Australian authors, with mid-list authors defined as those who have ‘published at least two literary titles and who may not have made their mark as yet or won an award’.
Publishers can apply for up to $40,000 for new works in fiction, poetry, YA and children’s literature, with funding available for editing, design, production, and promotion and publicity. Projects must be undertaken between May 2014 and 31 December 2015.
Australia Council program manager for literature, Nicola Evans, told Books+Publishing that the grants are part of the ‘Unfunded Excellence’ allocation for 2013-14, and were established following industry consultation. Application forms will be available from the Australia Council website from mid-December, and will need to be submitted by 10 February 2014.
The Australia Council is also offering a new Market Development grant to support Australian writers ‘pursuing opportunities in Asia’. The Writers’ Travel Fund for Asia, worth $4000, is open to writers who have been invited to key industry events such as book tours, writers’ festivals and publisher meetings that ‘will generate market development outcomes and future international opportunities’.
The grant is a pilot initiative and applications for the first round close on 25 November. Further rounds are scheduled for February and May 2014. For more information visit the website here.
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Category: Local news
