The Fund for Central and East European Book Projects (CEEBP) was established in Amsterdam in 1992 under the auspices of the European Cultural Foundation. Its aim is to enhance the free flow of thought and information across borders, by supporting quality publishing in Central and Eastern Europe.
The CEEBP supports the publication and dissemination of high-quality books in the field of literature and the humanities, primarily translations involving the languages of Central and Eastern Europe. In addition, the Fund assists publishers and booksellers in introducing professional and structural improvements in the book trade.

To achieve its aims, the CEEBP

• awards grants to publishers of quality books
• provides grants for quality translations into and between the languages of Central and East Europe
• mediates and supports professional contacts and tools, training, exchange of expertise, and transfer of professional skills
• acts as a partner organisation in programmes for the improvement of the book trade infrastructure

Organisation

The CEEBP has at its disposal an international Board of Trustees, an Advisory Board, a Committee of Historians, and a small staff versed in the various fields and languages of the region, as well as a network of independent experts.

Funding

Funding has been provided by the European Cultural Foundation, Allianz Cultural Foundation, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, the Salomon von Oppenheim Stiftung, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Donations have been given by Wolters Kluwer, Meulenhoff & Co bv, the Weekbladpers Groep bv, Boom Uitgeverij bv, as well as Press Now, OSI Center for Publishing Development, OSI Croatia, Rotary, Stichting Democratie en Media, and private donors.

Grants programme assists in:

• Translation and dissemination of high quality literary and scholarly books in the languages of Central and Eastern Europe.

Priority is given to translations of literary works and publications in the humanities enhancing an exchange of thought and information across territorial and cultural borders. Grants are awarded to publishers for the translation of seminal scholarly works and essays that are of interest to a wider intellectual readership.

• Professional contacts, tools and expertise

Professional book trade associations in Central and Eastern Europe are eligible for assistance in the professional and infrastructural improvement of promotion, marketing, distribution, efficiency measures, and training.

Grants are allocated to professional book trade associations in Central and Eastern Europe to help defray incidental professional costs such as website design.

Criteria

The criteria applied in all cases are the quality of the work in question and the quality of the publishing house, journal or translator involved; well-motivated requirement of the applicant; a sound budget; and the availability of other funding.

Geographical criteria

Support is available for publishers in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

Restrictions

Amounts awarded usually vary between € 1.000 and € 3.000. The grants are in principle non-renewable.

Grants are generally NOT awarded for:

• Books of a specialised nature or written for a limited readership
• Books in the field of health, medicine, pure or applied science, ecology, business, children's books, text books, art books and catalogues, or works of a religious or party political nature
• Books distributed free of charge
• Publishing houses that have existed for less than two years
• (Foreign) copyrights and reprint rights
• Institutional costs including maintenance, payments to budgetary deficits, salaries, and other day-to-day expenses of an organisation, or general appeals to funds
• Research, study, travel or project costs of an individual or private nature
• Collections of papers or proceedings of meetings or conferences
• Magazines and journals
• Publications of non-profit organisations
• Projects that have already been completed
• Translations from another language than the original publication
• Translation into another language than the language of the country of publication
• Print runs lower than 500 copies

Procedure for grant application

Applications for books should be submitted by the publisher, after the contract with the author(s) and/or translator(s) has been concluded.
We cannot stress enough the need for an application, including the required documents, to be submitted well in advance of the planned date of publication.

Those wishing to apply for a grant should send:

• description of the title, including background information on the book
• the publishing house backlist or catalogue
• copyright agreement(s)
• contract with the translator(s)
• the proposed print run
• the intended readership
• an itemised budget, which should include other financial sources
• other relevant information (promotion plans, distribution arrangements, etc.)

If the project is considered eligible for support, the publisher will receive an application form.

Only fully completed application forms submitted by the publisher per email, and copyright agreement(s), contract with the translator(s), and catalogues received by CEEBP per post, fax or scanned per email before the date of application deadline will be accepted for consideration.

Grant application deadlines

February 15 and August 15 each year.

Conditions

The grants are awarded by the Executive Board of the CEEBP on the basis of a fully completed application and expert advice from the CEEBP's consultants. All deliberations of the CEEBP are confidential. The Board is not required to justify its decisions. Once rejected, a project is no longer eligible for consideration by the Board.

Grants are awarded on the condition that recipients agree to the terms of the grant agreement, including acknowledgement of the CEEBP's support in any publication relating to the project. This requires that the grant application be made well in advance.

Payment of the first half of the grant will be made available upon receipt of a signed contract, and bank details of the grantee. The second half will be paid upon receipt by the CEEBP of two copies of the publication, and of documents showing that the provisions of the contract have been met.
In the event that the recipient of a grant wishes to use the grant for a project other than the one approved by the Executive Board, a new application must be submitted.
The grant must be spent within two years. If the grant, for whatever reason, has not been used within this period, the money will be returned to the CEEBP