Конкурс
Датум објаве: 05.05.2026. Датум истека рока за пријављивање: 05.06.2026.
Proposals for the Funding or Co-funding of Projects in the Field of Translating Representative Works of Serbian Literature Abroad in 2026
Pursuant to Article 76 of the Law on Culture (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 72/09, 13/16 and 30/16–as corrected, 6/20, 47/20, 78/21 and 76/23) and Article 23, paragraph 2 of the Law on State Administration (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 79/05, 101/07, 95/10, 99/14, 47/18 and 30/18), and in connection with the Decree on the Criteria, Indicators and Method for the Selection of Projects in Culture Funded and Co-funded from the Budget of the Republic of Serbia, the Autonomous Province, or Local Self-Government Units (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 105/16 and 112/17), as well as the Decision on Announcing a Call for Proposals for the Co-funding of Projects in the Field of Translating Representative Works of Serbian Literature Abroad in 2026, No. 2248692 2026 11800 002 001 640 018 dated 29th of April 2026, and in accordance with the Law on the Budget of the Republic of Serbia for 2026 (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 108/25).
REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
MINISTRY OF CULTURE
announces a
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
for the Funding or Co-funding of Projects in the Field of Translating Representative Works of Serbian Literature Abroad in 2026
The subject of the Call for Proposals: Co-funding of projects in the field of translating representative works of Serbian literature into foreign languages.
The objective of the Call for Proposals is: to encourage the translation of representative works of Serbian literature into foreign languages.
Applications for the Call for Proposals in the field of translating representative works of Serbian literature into foreign languages may be submitted in the following literary categories: poetry, prose, drama, literature for children (excluding picture books and textbooks), anthologies and thematic selections, and theoretical works in the field of culture and the arts intended for a general readership.
Priority for funding translations into foreign languages will be given to classical works of Serbian literature, as well as to works that have received recognition in the professional literary community.
The minimum amount of funding or co-funding per project: RSD 120,000.00.
Eligible participants for this Call for Proposals are: institutions, artistic and other associations, and organisations/legal entities that are registered in the Republic of Serbia or outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia, that is professional foreign publishers registered exclusively or primarily for publishing activities.
Institutions whose founder is the Republic of Serbia and which are funded in accordance with Article 74 of the Law on Culture are not eligible to participate in this Call for Proposals. A participant may submit multiple projects; however, the same project cannot be submitted to more than one Call for Proposals of the Ministry.
Method of application:
A participant in the Call for Proposals is required to submit documentation arranged in the following order:
- Completed Application Form No. 1 – Application Form for the Call for Proposals.
- Completed Application Form No. 2 – Project Applicant Information Form.
- A notarised statement by the responsible person confirming that all obligations towards the Ministry of Culture arising from previous calls have been fulfilled, guaranteeing the accuracy of the submitted information, and undertaking to use the funds for their intended purpose, as well as to submit, upon completion of the project, a narrative and financial report on the project’s implementation, together with the indicators of the achieved impact of the project as specified in the application form.
- An excerpt from the relevant register or a certificate of registration of the legal entity, showing that the participant in the Call for Proposals is registered exclusively or primarily for publishing activities.
- An excerpt from the court or other register proving that no final measure prohibiting publishing activities has been imposed on the foreign publisher within two years prior to the announcement of the Call for Proposals.
- A signed or initialled copyright agreement with the author from Serbia (or the author’s heir) or with an authorised publisher whose work is intended for translation.
- A signed or initialled agreement with the translator of the work in question.
- A current catalogue containing at least four literary-artistic works (a current catalogue refers to the catalogue for 2024/2025 or 2025/2026).
- The translator’s CV or a reference list of the translator’s previous translations.
- The book to be translated (a physical copy of the book showing the title, author, publisher, etc.). This requirement may also be fulfilled by submission from the domestic publisher or the author of the work.
- A statement from the participant in the Call for Proposals explaining the reasons for selecting the particular title, as well as the plan for promoting the translated title outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia.
- a) An applicant registered outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia is required to submit a payment instruction in euros to a foreign currency account opened with a commercial bank, clearly indicating the SWIFT and IBAN codes (the payment instruction for the foreign currency account must not be older than six months).
- b) An applicant registered in the territory of the Republic of Serbia must provide the number of a sub-account opened with the competent branch of the Treasury – a dedicated sub-account in the field of culture for public funds received from the budget, or an existing account repurposed for 2026, in accordance with the Rulebook on Amendments to the Rulebook on the Sub-account Plan of the Consolidated Treasury Account (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 143/22).
All documentation for the Call for Proposals must be submitted in either Serbian or English.
Financial support is provided exclusively for the translation of the work, and not for the costs of printing, distribution, or preparation of the book for publication.
Funds for the implementation of the Call for Proposals are provided under Programme 1203 – Enhancing Cultural Production and Artistic Creation, within Programme Activity 003 – SUPPORT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERARY CREATION AND PUBLISHING, under economic classifications 424, 463, and 481, from resources allocated by the Law on the Budget of the Republic of Serbia for 2026 (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 108/25).
Of the funds allocated for this purpose in the budget of the Ministry of Culture and Information, 70% is generally intended to support foreign publishers, and 30% to support domestic publishers. Financial support is provided exclusively for the translation of works, and not for the costs of printing, distribution, or preparation of the book for publication.
The criteria for the selection of projects funded and co-funded from the budget of the Republic of Serbia in the various fields of culture are defined in Articles 3 and 4 of the Decree on the Criteria, Indicators, and Method for the Selection of Projects in Culture Funded and Co-funded from the Budgets of the Republic of Serbia, the Autonomous Province, or Local Self-Government Units (see the website (https://www.kultura.gov.rs/tekst/sr/43/zakoni-i-uredbe.php).
Projects funded and co-funded from the budget of the Republic of Serbia will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1) compliance of the project with the general interest in culture and with the objectives and priorities of the Call for Proposals;
2) quality and substantive innovativeness of the project;
3) capacities required for the implementation of the project, specifically:
(1) professional and artistic capacities,
(2) necessary resources;
4) financial plan – level of detail, alignment with the project activity plan, cost-effectiveness, and inclusion of multiple sources of funding;
5) degree of impact on the quality of the community’s cultural life.
When considering works by contemporary authors, the expert committee will, in its evaluation, be guided by the frequency and literary justification of the support previously granted to the works under review in past calls.
The following shall not be considered:
1) one-off projects that have already been supported in previous Ministry calls,
2) projects with a predominantly commercial impact.
Late and inadmissible applications will be rejected.
In the case of an incomplete or unclear application, the Ministry will inform the applicant how to rectify the submission within a period of no less than eight days, with a warning regarding the legal consequences.
When evaluating projects, consideration will also be given to their alignment with the objectives and priorities of the strategic documents of the Republic of Serbia.
Applications shall be considered if submitted:
- exclusively by post (address: Ministry of Culture, 3 Vlajkovićeva St., Belgrade, marked “Call for Proposals for the Translation of Serbian Literary Works in 2026”).
- in 4 copies of Form No. 1 – Application Form for the Call for Proposals, and the remaining listed documentation in 1 copy.
- If a single applicant submits multiple projects, a separate application must be submitted for each project.
The selection of projects under the announced Call for Proposals is decided by the Minister, based on a reasoned recommendation from the expert committee.
The application Form for projects for the translation of representative works of Serbian literature into foreign languages can be downloaded from the official website of the Ministry: www.kultura.gov.rs.
The Call for Proposals lasts from 5 Маy 2026 to 5 June 2026.
Application materials will not be returned.
The results of this call will be published on the official website of the Ministry of Culture. In this way, the Ministry of Culture will inform all applicants and the general public of the outcome of the call.
Support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia must be clearly indicated on all copies of the book whose translation is financially supported. The Ministry’s logo and text will be sent by email to the publisher’s address.
The publisher is obliged to deliver the translation of the work for which funds have been approved by 1 December 2026.
The published book must be submitted in six (6) copies.
Additional information can be obtained from the Ministry of Culture via email: konkurs.stvaralastvo@kultura.gov.rs.