Creative Europe 2027: €5 million for translating European literature, deadline 27 January

Through the Creative Europe programme, the European Commission is funding projects that translate, publish, distribute and promote European literature under the call "Circulation of European literary works" (CREA-CULT-2027-LIT). The budget is €5 million for around 40 projects, and applications are due by 27 January 2027, 17:00 (Brussels time). Publishers in Romania can apply on their own or in a consortium with partners from other participating countries.

In brief

• Programme: Creative Europe, Culture strand, call CREA-CULT-2027-LIT
• Authority: European Commission, through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
• Beneficiaries: organisations from the countries participating in Creative Europe (including Romania), applying on their own or in a consortium
• Total budget: €5,000,000, for around 40 projects
• Submission period: opening scheduled for 7 October 2026, deadline 27 January 2027, 17:00 CET
• Status: call published on the Funding & Tenders portal, with single-stage submission

What does the call fund?

Projects must cover the whole journey of a translated book: translation, publication, distribution and promotion. Eligible European literary works include novels, short stories, plays and radio plays, poetry, literary reportage, comics, and literature for children and young people.

By "European literary work" the Commission means a work written by an author linked to a country participating in Creative Europe (through citizenship or residence) or recognised as part of European literary heritage.

The call pursues four objectives:

• the transnational circulation and diversity of European literature, with an emphasis on works written in less-translated languages;
• promoting reading and linguistic and cultural diversity to a wide audience;
• supporting the profession of literary translator, with good working conditions and fair pay;
• strengthening the sector's competitiveness through cooperation between publishers, bookshops and libraries.

Applicants are also encouraged to propose activities that facilitate the circulation of books from and to Ukraine, including translations from and into Ukrainian.

What special conditions does the call have?

• Translators: between 20% and 30% of the project's total budget should go towards translators' pay.
• No machine translation: machine translation is excluded; publishers must sign contracts with professional literary translators.
• Translator visibility: the translator's name must appear prominently in the book, preferably on the cover.
• Form: part B of the application (the technical description) is limited to 70 pages.

The admissibility and eligibility conditions are in sections 5–6 of the call document, and the evaluation criteria in sections 8–9. Project categories, grant ceilings and the co-financing rate should be read from the call document published for 2027. Do not rely on figures from previous editions.

How and by when do you apply?

The application is submitted electronically, on the European Commission's Funding & Tenders portal, on the page for call CREA-CULT-2027-LIT. The deadline is 27 January 2027, 17:00 CET (18:00 Romanian time). To submit, your organisation and any partners must have an account and a PIC code on the portal.

According to the Commission, 2027 is the last year of the current Creative Europe programme, which has a total budget of €402 million for this year.

What this means for your business

Our recommendation: the call suits Romanian publishers that already have a translation plan covering 2–3 years. The real advantage for a publisher in Romania is the emphasis on less-translated languages. Romanian is one such language, and a project that takes Romanian authors to other markets (in a consortium with foreign publishers) or brings authors from smaller languages into Romanian has a solid case.

What to prepare now:

• the list of titles, with translation rights negotiated or at least written options from agents and publishers;
• the translators, with contracts that respect the 20–30% budget threshold for pay;
• a concrete promotion plan (launches, festivals, bookshops, libraries, online), because the funding does not cover translation alone;
• the consortium partners, if you are aiming for a larger project, with PICs validated in good time.

Common pitfalls: a translator budget below the threshold, titles without clear rights and a generic promotion plan. In addition, part B can slightly exceed the 70-page limit if it is not written with discipline. You can quickly check how well your organisation fits with the eligibility check. For other strands of the programme, see the page Creative Europe 2027 — cooperation and the circulation of literary works.

Frequently asked questions

Can a publisher from Romania apply on its own?

Yes. The call accepts both projects submitted by a single organisation and consortium projects. Romania takes part in Creative Europe as an EU Member State.

What types of books can be translated?

European literary works: novels, short stories, plays and radio plays, poetry, literary reportage, comics, and literature for children and young people. The author must be linked to a country participating in Creative Europe or be recognised as part of European literary heritage.

Can I use machine translation to reduce costs?

No. Machine translation is excluded from this call. Publishers must work with professional literary translators under contract, and 20–30% of the project budget should go towards their pay.

What is the submission deadline?

27 January 2027, 17:00 CET, which is 18:00 in Romania. The application is submitted online, on the European Commission's Funding & Tenders portal.

How much can a project receive?

The total budget is €5 million for around 40 projects. Ceilings by project category and the co-financing rate are set in the call document for 2027, which you should consult before building your budget.

Official sources

• Funding & Tenders portal — call CREA-CULT-2027-LIT, Circulation of European literary works
• Call document CREA-CULT-2027-LIT
• European Commission — Creative Europe in 2027: one last year before the new budget cycle

Information checked on 12 October 2026. Conditions may be changed by the managing authority — check the guide in force before you submit.