BOOKED: travel fund for publishers and literary agents - literature

BOOKED provides travel support for Australian publishers and literary agents to promote Australian literary works and authors overseas and develop international demand for Australian literary works and authors.

BOOKED also provides  travel support to negotiate the sales of rights for Australian authors and their work and consolidate existing and build new relationships to international markets.

Given limited resources, support for independent and small to medium size publishing houses is a priority. As well, priority will be placed on Frankfurt Book Fair, the London Book Fair and Bologna Book Fair.

Support is available for the promotion of Australian works of fiction and non-fiction through forms such as the novel, short story, poetry, writing for children, the graphic novel and literary non-fiction (defined as biography, essays, histories, literary criticism or analytical prose).

Funding will only be provided for the marketing of new titles by Australian authors. If a title submitted is not new, please include a rationale in your project outline.

Eligibility

Australian publishers and literary agents are eligible for travel support:

• When attending international book fairs and/or international literary festivals intended to sell rights and pursue market contacts.
• For small and medium-size literary publishers to undertake trips overseas to broker exchanges and partnerships with literary publishing houses that share similar mandates, interests and capacity, in terms of print-run, etc.

Eligible applicants must be:

• Australian citizens or have permanent resident status in Australia. Proof may be required.
• Legally constituted if applying as an organisation, i.e. incorporated or a company limited by a guarantee.

Restrictions
Ineligible categories include: self-published titles, educational books; books that are primarily interviews; local and oral history; military studies; instruction manuals, how-to books including cook books and hobby books; university theses; bibliographies; dictionaries, encyclopaedias, reference titles; guide books; catalogues, self-help, lifestyle; scientific, theological, legal and medical works. Applicants will be ineligible if they have any outstanding contractual obligations to the Australia Council prior to submitting a new application.

Amount available

The maximum available per application is AU$10,000.  It is expected that the publisher or agent will contribute to the cost of the international travel supported. 

Eligible expenses
Applicants are eligible for international travel, in-country travel to undertake meetings and accommodation costs based on the following details:

• International airfare set at AU$3000 maximum per person (economy airfare).
• Support for in-country and country-to-country travel to undertake meetings with key contacts. Costs should be based on an economy airfare or train fare or the cheapest available return fare.
• Support for accommodation to a maximum contribution of AU$250 per person per night.

Support is available for one person per organisation and applications must demonstrate financial contributions from other sources, including the applicant.

Applicants can receive travel support for up to two international trips per year, based on the availability of resources in the travel fund.

Ineligible expenses
Costs for booths at international book fairs, per diems, taxis and/or business class airfares are not allowed.

Assessment criteria

Australia Council staff will review the travel requests against the assessment criteria below. While your application may meet the stated assessment criteria, you are not guaranteed travel support. Support from this travel fund rests on the merits of the proposal against the stated assessment criteria in competition with other applicants and available resources.

1. The extent to which the travel will establish or consolidate international markets for the proposed authors and titles within your market development objectives.
   Please outline the intended outcomes from the proposed trip (max. 2 pages) i.e. details of proposed travel, indicating the book fair(s), festival(s) and/or planned itinerary of meetings which will be undertaken. The itinerary should include dates, location, as well as key contacts related to any meetings.  Please include details on how the visit will establish or consolidate international markets for the proposed authors and titles within your company’s international markets development objectives.
2. The quality of works proposed, and suitability of titles for an international readership.
   Please include a list of the Australian titles in which you hold overseas rights that will be promoted, outlining the quality of works proposed, and suitability of titles for an international readership.
3. The cost-effectiveness of the proposal.
   Please include a budget itemising the main costs of the trip, including resources contributed by the applicant / organisation and/or any other source of funding to demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of the proposal.

How to apply

To apply for travel support, applicants must submit the following:

• Application form.
• A statement of claims against each of the three (3) assessment criteria above.

Please send a complete hard copy of your application to:

BOOKED
Market development section
Australia Council for the Arts
PO Box 788
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012

Applications received via fax or email will not be considered. Applications which are incomplete or which do not contain all of the required supporting materials will not be considered. Applicants will not be contacted if applications are incomplete. 

Deadline

Complete applications should be received at least six (6) weeks prior to the project commencement date to ensure confirmation of support prior to the departure. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application well before this so that alternate arrangements can be made should their application not be approved for funding. 

Applications will not be returned to the applicant.

Applicants will normally be notified of the results within four (4) weeks of receipt of their complete application.  The Australia Council does not release results over the telephone or via facsimile.

More information

For further information, please contact:

Julia Lee, Program Officer
International market development
Tel.: (02) 9215 9046  or Toll free: 1800 226 912
Email: j.lee@australiacouncil.gov.au

These guidelines are subject to modification without notice.