The call has been open since 21 October 2026. The deadline is 27 January 2027.
The Creative Europe call CREA-CULT-2027-LIT funds projects that translate, publish, distribute and promote European literature, with a special focus on less-translated languages. It is managed by EACEA and supports around 40 projects, submitted by a single organisation or by a consortium.
The call at a glance
- Programme: Creative Europe, Culture strand.
- Call: CREA-CULT-2027-LIT, Circulation of European literary works.
- Managing body: EACEA, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency, with applications submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal.
Deadline and timetable
The deadline is 27 January 2027 at 17:00 CET (Brussels time). It cannot be extended.
- Opening: 21 October 2026
- Evaluation: February to May 2027
- Results: July 2027
- Grant Agreement signature (the contract with the Commission): October 2027
The call is subject to the final adoption of the 2027 EU budget.
Budget and co-financing
The total budget is EUR 5 million for around 40 projects. The maximum grant depends on the type of applicant and the number of works translated.
- Single organisation: up to EUR 200,000. Consortium (at least 2 organisations): up to EUR 300,000.
- Small project (at least 5 works): up to EUR 100,000. Medium (at least 11 works): up to EUR 200,000. Large (at least 21 works, consortia only): up to EUR 300,000.
- Funding rate: maximum 60%, so at least 40% must come from co-financing.
- Duration: normally up to 36 months.
The grant is a lump sum, meaning a fixed amount tied to completing the activities rather than to documented expenses, calculated on the estimated project budget. The budget must be balanced and the grant cannot generate a profit. Prefinancing is normally about 80% of the maximum amount, paid 30 days after the agreement enters into force (or after the guarantee, if required); there are no interim payments. Translation and publication rights costs are not eligible. Financial support to third parties is capped at EUR 60,000 per third party.
How to apply
- Online only, through the Funding & Tenders Portal. Every beneficiary needs an EU Login account and a 9-digit PIC (the organisation identifier in the Portal).
- Part A (administrative and budget data, online), Part B (technical description, maximum 70 pages, Word template uploaded as PDF: pages beyond the limit are ignored) and Part C (additional data and KPIs, online).
- Mandatory annexes: budget table, CVs of the team and of the translators, list of projects from the last 4 years, the “Overview of translations” from the Creative Europe Database, the declaration on publications and a Creative Dossier (synopses, themes, author presentations, eligibility justification).
- The work plan has mandatory work packages: project management, translation, publication and distribution, promotion and communication. The work package on Ukrainian works applies only where relevant.
Evaluation criteria
- Relevance: maximum 25 points, minimum threshold 13
- Quality of content and activities: maximum 40 points, minimum threshold 20
- Project management: maximum 15 points, minimum threshold 8
- Dissemination: maximum 20 points, minimum threshold 10
- Overall minimum score: 70 out of 100
In case of a tie, the order is Relevance, then Dissemination, then Quality of content.
Who can take part
- Public or private bodies established in an EU Member State (overseas countries and territories included) or in a listed EEA or Creative Europe associated country, active in the publishing and book sector.
- A single organisation or a consortium of at least 2 beneficiaries can apply. Affiliated entities do not count towards the minimum.
- International organisations are eligible. Natural persons are not, except sole traders without separate legal personality, and EU bodies are excluded.
- Each project includes at least 5 European literary works.
Please note: translators must be credited visibly, preferably on the cover, with the source language stated, and machine translation is excluded. Entities subject to EU restrictive measures or to conditionality measures (Regulation 2020/2092, currently some Hungarian public interest trusts) cannot take part. A project can receive only one EU grant and a cost cannot be declared under two grants. Applicants who use AI tools remain responsible for the content and must disclose them.
Objectives
The call supports the translation, publication, distribution and promotion of European literary works (novels, short stories, theatre and radio plays, poetry, literary reportage, comics, children’s and youth literature). It complements other Creative Europe book actions, such as the European Authors Day and the European Union Prize for Literature.
Priorities and eligible activities
- Transnational circulation and diversity: translation, publication, distribution and promotion of works in less-translated languages.
- Reading and discoverability: promoting reading and linguistic and cultural diversity among a broad audience.
- Translator profession: good working conditions and fair pay. For fiction projects the call recommends translator fees of 20-30% of the total budget.
- Competitiveness of the book sector: cooperation along the value chain between publishers, booksellers and libraries.
- Ukraine: activities are encouraged to bring books into and out of Ukraine, translate from and into Ukrainian and provide Ukrainian books to refugees.
Eligible activities include translation, publication, promotion and distribution, within a solid publishing strategy and distribution plan, and collaboration among authors, translators, publishers, distributors, booksellers, libraries and literary festivals. Each application also explains how it contributes to the EU cross-cutting priorities (digital and green transition, inclusion and gender equality, international relations).
Target groups
- Readers and the wider public, with a focus on discovering new works
- Translators, authors, publishers, booksellers and libraries
- Displaced people, including Ukrainian refugees
The official call document is available here: before applying, I recommend checking the official Funding & Tenders Portal page for updates and FAQs.