Canada: Travel Grants up to $2500 available to writers, translators, literary performers, spoken word artists + storytellers

Travel Grants enable writers, translators, literary performers, spoken word artists and storytellers to:

• respond to invitations to specific international literary events that are important to their artistic development and career
• within Canada, participate in a writer’s residency.

You may apply for one of the following fixed amounts: $500, $750, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $2,500. The amounts of $2,000 and $2,500 are available only if you are travelling to or from northern Canada or to international destinations that are not in North America or Europe. Grants contribute toward your travel costs, based on excursion fares.

These grants cannot be used for travel that occurred before the date that the application is submitted.

Travel allowances are based on the most economical 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 also receive funding from other public or private organizations, but not to cover the same expenses.

To apply to this program, you must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.

You must also meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, which is an artist who:

• has specialized training in the artistic field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
• is recognized as a professional by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition)
• is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially.
• has a history of public presentation or publication.

To meet the definition of a professional writer, you must also have one of the following:

• at least one book published by an eligible 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 eligible literary magazines, periodicals or anthologies published by eligible publishing houses, or
• for poetry, a minimum of 10 published poems, or
• for literary non-fiction, a minimum of 40 pages or 10,000 words of articles published in eligible literary magazines, periodicals or anthologies that are published by eligible publishing houses. 

Literary non-fiction is understood to be narrative text about real events, people or ideas, where the writer’s voice and opinion are evident and the narrative is set within a context and a critical framework.

Only works published by eligible book publishers, literary magazines, and periodicals based in Canada or abroad are counted towards your eligibility.  Publications must be available to the general public.

Eligible publishers must:

• publish works based on an editorial selection process
• have published at least four literary books or two magazine/periodical issues and be committed to a sustained publishing program, consisting of literary works by a variety of authors
• only publish a maximum of 25% each year of publications that are written by their owners, family members or employees
• pay royalties or compensate the authors
• use appropriate and effective means to market, distribute and create public awareness of their publications.

Professional writers working in all languages and literary artists working in all oral traditions are also eligible. In addition, to meet the above definition of a professional artist, they must 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 literary performers, spoken word artists or storytellers are eligible to apply to this program. In addition, to meet the above definition of a professional artist, they must have participated in literary performance, spoken word or storytelling festivals and events and have been paid in the past for their public literary performances.

Restrictions

Playwrights may be eligible 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.

Screenwriters may be eligible to the Travel Grants to Media Arts Professionals program.

Full-time undergraduate or high school students enrolled in a school, college or university are not eligible to apply.

Graduate students at the masters and doctoral levels are eligible to apply providing they demonstrate that they have sufficient time to carry out the proposed activities and that the travel remains distinct from their graduate work. A letter of confirmation from the university must accompany your request.

Fouad Matar
Program Officer
Writing and Publishing Section
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 5576