Publishers and literary agents may apply for translation grants to support their sales activities. Sample translations into English will receive priority.

The applicant must be authorised to represent translation rights in the work and be prepared to conduct negotiations on pricing and contract terms with the foreign publisher.

Grants are available for sample translations of works published in Finland and written in the Finnish, Finland-Swedish or Sámi language.

Applications are processed twice a year. The application deadlines are 1 May and 1 November. Sample translation grants will be awarded as long as funds earmarked for this purpose remain.

The completed sample translation must be submitted to FILI within six months of the grant award date. The grant money will be paid when the completed sample translation has been submitted through FILI’s grant management system. The grant recipient shall provide their bank account details in conjunction wit the payment request. A digitally or hand-signed copy of the government funding agreement is mandatory for all applicants.

If a translation project is cancelled, delayed or significantly changed after an application is submitted or approved (such as a change in translator or a significant reduction in length of a sample translation) the grant recipient must inform FILI immediately (). If the sample translation is not submitted to FILI within 6 months of the date the grant was awarded, the grant will automatically be cancelled. If a completed sample translation is significantly shorter than the length stated in the grant application, FILI reserves the right to recalculate the amount of the grant.

FILI’s grant programme is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.