Publishing Scotland gives first translation grants

Publishing projects in Macedonia, Albania, Norway and Spain are among the recipients of the first tranche of grants from Publishing Scotland's new Translation Fund.

Novels from authors including John Niven, Louise Welsh, Kerry Hudson and Ali Smith are featured among the chosen projects [full list below], which saw priority given to the translation of contemporary literature.

Over £13,000 has been allocated to overseas houses to encourage international publishers to translate works by Scottish writers. There are two annual deadlines for the grants, which total £25,000 per year. There were 17 applications for the first round of the fund, of which 11 were successful.

Aly Barr, acting head of Literature, Languages and Publishing at Creative Scotland, said: “Following the recommendations in the recent Literature Sector Review, we’re delighted that Publishing Scotland will now be delivering this exciting new fund to support Scottish writing and publishing on an international stage. This fund will allow publishers from across the globe to access and translate Scotland’s greatest writing.“

Creative Scotland's review, published in July last year, argued for a much stronger push for Scottish literature to international markets.

The full list of grant-receiving projects is:

The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson (Penguin): to be published by Bokbyen Forlag, Norway
The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne by Andrew Nicoll (Black & White Publishing): to be published by Sonzogno Di Marsilo, Spain
A Lovely Way to Burn by Louise Welsh (John Murray): to be published by Verlag Kunstmann, Germany
Straight White Male by John Niven (Windmill): to be published by Malapso Ediciones, Spain
The Accidental by Ali Smith (Penguin): to be published by TRI Publishing, Macedonia
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Contraband): to be published by Europa Verlag, Germany
The Girl in the Bunker by Tracey S Rosenberg (Cargo): to be published by Atmosphere Libri, Italy
The First Person and Other Stories by Ali Smith (Penguin): to be published by Editura Univers, Romania
A Painted Field by Robin Robertson (Picador): to be published by Aleph Klub, Albania
Ath Aithne by Martainn Mac an t'Saoir (Gaelic)/Reacquaintance by Martin MacIntyre (Clar): to be published by Vents D'Ailleurs, France
Tony Hogan Bought me an Ice-cream Float before he Stole my Ma by Kerry Hudson (Vintage): Minimum Fax, Italy