MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND MEDIA OF THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA – INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT SCHEMES

TRANSLATION GRANTS

OBJECTIVE
• Promote translation and presentation of Croatian literature abroad by co-financing translation costs

WHAT?
• Fiction, quality non-fiction and works of special cultural interest

WHO?
• Publishers with a seat of business outside Croatia.

WHEN?
• Around the year

HOW?
• Application Form
• Contract with copyright holder
• Contract with translator
• Publishing house profile/catalogue
• Translator’s profile

MOBILITY
• Travel grants for writers, translators, book professionals to attend festivals, readings, participate in collaborative projects, etc.
• Subsidies to book/writer/translator associations and organizations to encourage bilateral/multilateral & regional/international exchange
• Subsidies to writer/translator residencies to foster exchange:
– Dubrovnik Writer Residence, Writer Exchange Program maintained by MC
– Marko Marulić Writer in Residence, Split
– Hiža od besid Writer Residence, Pazin
– Zvona i nari Writer Residence, Ližnjan
– Kamov Residency Program, Rijeka
– P.E.N. Croatia Writer in Residence, Zagreb
– Ulysses' Shelter, Literary Residences for Writers, Translators and Editors
– Residency of the Croatian Literary Translators’ Association  
 

Instructions to publishers for applying to the translation grants

Contact: translation-grants@min-kulture.hr

Useful info: Ministry of Culture and Media
 

NORLA’s Translator’s Award 2024 goes to Mišo Grundler

In Oslo, on September 26, while celebrating International Translation Day, or Hieronymus Day as it’s known in Norway, NORLA presented its annual translation award for the nineteenth time. NORLA’s Translator’s Award for 2024 goes to Mišo Grundler for his outstanding work in translating Norwegian non-fiction into Croatian.

Mišo Grundler (b.1988) has in only a few years become central to the work of translating Norwegian literature into Croatian. His work is of very high quality and he is considered one of the country’s best translators, whichever language he is working from. He has translated several Norwegian non-fiction authors – including five titles by Lars Fr. H. Svendsen, as well as Erika Fatland, Arne Næss and Sigri Sandberg. Altogether he has translated more than 40 titles from Norwegian, Swedish and Danish.

Grundler was nominated for two translation awards in Croatia for his work on Simon Stranger’s Keep Saying Their Names (Leksikon om lys og mørke) – which is admittedly a novel, but has strong elements of non-fiction. He has also recently translated Peer Gynt, an impressive achievement, which – although it falls beyond the scope of these circumstances – says something about the extent of his abilities.

In connection with the award, NORLA has received a special message from publisher Dijana Bahtijari at TIM, the publishing house Mišo works closely with. Bahtijari highlights not only Mišo’s qualities as a translator, but other aspects of his personality – writing:

It is a true pleasure to celebrate Mišo on this very special occasion. As a translator, he has brought countless works from Scandinavian languages to life, bridging cultures with both precision and artistry. But what truly sets Mišo apart is the humour he brings into everything. Whether it’s cracking jokes mid-sentence or making fun of his own missteps, Mišo manages to lighten any room while delivering exceptional work. His ability to balance laughter with linguistic brilliance is something that not only makes him an extraordinary professional but also a friend I’m lucky to know.


NORLA’s Translator’s Award is presented for translations made directly from Norwegian and is given to a talented emerging translator, to stimulate the continued achievements of Norwegian literature.

The award was presented for the first time during the Norwegian Literature Festival in Lillehammer in 2007, and has since been given to translators of non-fiction and fiction on alternating years. The award consists of NOK 20,000 and a two-week stay in Norway, at NORLA’s translator hotel: Bondeheimen.


foto: Anto Magzan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Miroslav Mićanović, poet and critic

Signals emanated from Bagić’ poems bear the voices of Croatian poets (Šimić, Slamnig, Dragojević, Žagar...), sounds of cities and other cultures, like an echo of the poets enamored with beauty of the words and small, everyday rituals.

Bringing Balkan literature to the U.S.

by Ed Nawotka


Croatian Publisher Ivan Sršen discusses the surprising success of Sandorf Passage, a U.S. publishing house focused on translations from Eastern Europe.

Ivan Sršen, who established Sandorf Publishing in 2008, has been a significant figure in Croatian publishing for more than two decades. In 2017, he co-founded Sandorf Passage with American editor Buzz Poole, focusing on bringing Balkan literature to English- speaking audiences. "We already knew the literature, we knew the translators, we obviously knew the English-language book market, so we decided to start our own company," Sršen said, describing the inception of Sandorf Passage.

Sandorf Passage has published 24 books in the last four years, slightly exceeding their initial plan of four titles per year. The press focuses primarily on novels and short stories, with one or two poetry collections annually.

He highlighted the success of several Sandorf Passage titles, including Robert Perišić's A Cat at the End of the World, which was listed among the most important translations published in 2022 by the Wall Street Journal. Another significant release was Vera Mutafchieva's The Case of Cem, a Bulgarian classic that has already sold through its third printing. "Mutafchieva is the best historical fiction writer of Bulgaria in the 20th century, definitely, but I would say one of Europe's and the world's best historical fiction writers." He explained that the novel, which he had published in Croatia about 10 years ago, is about Cem, a Turkish Sultan from the end of the 15th century who was exiled. 

Despite the book's challenging subject matter - "It's a 500- page book about the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the 15th century, written by a Bulgarian female author in 1967 behind the Iron Curtain" - Sršen believed in its potential. "That's very exciting about Sandorf Passage because we allow ourselves to do things we really believe in," he said. The success of The Case of Cem was bolstered by its translator, Angela Rodel, who won the International Booker Prize for her translation of Georgi Gospodinov's Time Shelter during the book's production process. Sršen noted: "It really went perfectly. And we had really great attention for this book, and we are now selling the third edition."

In addition to his work with Sandorf Passage, Sršen continues to lead Sandorf Publishing in Croatia, releasing about 20 titles per year across various genres including literature, philosophy, and history. He emphasized the advantages of working in a smaller market: "If you work in culture, you know everyone. And if you want to work with the best people, you can work with the best people."

Sršen is also involved in several international literary initiatives, including the Ulysses' Shelter residency program and the Lit Link Festival, which brings international publishers and writers to Croatia each year.

Despite the challenges of running an independent press, Sršen remains committed to his vision. "We work a lot, and we really like what we are doing," he said. "Sometimes we have to get by from month to month, but we will never give up publishing, it's what we do and who we are!"

Asked about the surprising interest in Balkan literature in the U.S. and why the market was growing, Sršen observed: "Suddenly, with Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the rise of right-wing politics, Eastern European history begins to matter. There's fear spreading around. With fear, there is also curiosity."

Tanja Tolić, Najbolje knjige

The Venetian Falcon is a masterfully written SciFi book that reads in one sitting. (...) Milena Benini is bursting with talent, invigorated by her previous titles. Someone capable of writing a novel like this is an outstanding writer, with rich imagination, a born writer who honed her words for decades.

Ana Brnardić

Ana Brnardić (1980) is born in Zagreb, Croatia. She holds a Master’s degree in Comparative Literature and the Croatian Language and Literature from the University of Zagreb, as well as a Master’s degree in Music (violin) from the Music Academy in Zagreb. She has published five collections of poems.

Her debut collection of poems, Some Sage’s Pen (1998), garnered her critical acclaim and two prestigious awards: the Goran Award for Young Poets and the Slavic Award from the Croatian Writer’s Association for the best debut poetry collection. Her collection of poems Waltzing Snakes (2005), received the Kvirin Award for Young Poets. Her other poetry collections are Genesis of Birds (2009), Uphill (2015) and A Wolf and a Birch (2019).

Genesis of Birds and A Wolf and a Birch were shortlisted for the Tin Ujević Prize for Poetry. Selected poems from Brnardić were translated into Romanian in the book Hotel cu muzicieni (transl. by Dumitru M. Ion, Editura Academiei Internaţionale Orient-Occident, Bucharest) in 2009. And Genesis of Birds was translated into Swedish (Fåglarnas tillblivelse transl. by Đorđe Žarković, Rámus förlag, Malmö) in 2016. In 2021. a collection of poems from her last two books was translated into French and published under a title Devant toi le jour (L’Ollave, transl. by Vanda Mikšić & Brankica Radić).

Being a member of Versopolis poetry platform, her poems were translated and published in booklets in Slovenia, North Macedonia, France, Sweden, Slovakia and Greece. Her poem L'épaule (transl. in French by V. Mikšić) is printed with a painting by Marie-Claire Avesque, in a special edition of collection fibre.s (la tête à l'enverse publisher, 2022).

Her poems are also published in anthologies in Croatia and abroad, some of them being: Ritualul omului fericit. 18 poeti croati tineri (selected by Branislav Oblučar TracusArte, Bukurešt, 2017, translated into Romanian by Adrian Oproiu and Goran Čolakhodžić), Grand Tour: Reisen durch die junge Lyrik Europas (selected by Jan Wagner and Federico Italiano, Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co, 2019; translated into German by Alida Bremer), Svjetlaci (selected by Tonko Maroević, HDP, Zagreb, 2019), Útecha chaosu (selected by Miroslav Mićanović, Občianske združenie Vlna / łVydavate Drewo a srd, Bratislava, 2022; translated into Slovakian by Karol Chmel) and others.

Aside from writing poetry, essays and book reviews, Brnardić also translates contemporary Romanian literature into Croatian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damir Šodan, critic

A poet of a universal humanism and belief in the healing power of an artistic undertaking as was not seen to date in Croatian poetry.

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