Fellows in the 2016 Istanbul Tanpinar Book Festival program visit Istanbul’s Archeological Museum Library.
By Hannah Johnson | @hannahsjohnson
Translation and international exchange have always been important to the publishing community, not only in terms of our bottom line, but also to help us better understand and work with each other.For those who want to experience publishing cultures in other countries, there are a number of sponsored trips organized just for this purpose.
Right now, application deadlines are approaching for two such trips: The Istanbul Tanpinar Literature Festival Fellowship and the Frankfurt Book Fair New York Editors Trip. Both of these programs have been taking place for years, and participants come back with new friends, new ideas, and renewed energy.
Below are the details and application instructions for each of these trips.
Turkey: Istanbul Tanpinar Literature Festival Fellowship
The Istanbul Tanpinar Literature Festival’s 2016 fellows and associates met with more than 20 publishers during their introduction to the Turkish publishing market.
The Istanbul Tanpinar Literature Festival (ITEF) has issued an open call for applications for its 6th annual Professional Meetings Fellowship Program on May 8-10, 2017.
Applications from writers, publishers, agents, translators, journalists, literary fund managers, festival coordinators and other literary professionals are welcome.
Accommodation expenses are covered for four nights (May 7-11), and participants must book their own travel. The application deadline is March 15, 2017.
Participants in this three-day fellowship visit leading Turkish publishers across Istanbul and take part in networking events. The aim of both ITEF and its fellowship program is “to increase the visibility of Turkish literature abroad, to promote Turkish literature worldwide and to enrich the literary scene in Turkey by extending horizons and creating new dialogues.”
In its first five years, the ITEF Fellowship brought 104 literary professionals from 30 countries to Turkey, and the organizers say they receive more applications each year.
Tim Bartlett, executive editor at St. Martin’s Press, participated in the 2016 program. He said, “The ITEF Fellowship was a world-expanding experience for me. The quality and diversity of the fellows, the depth and range of the Turkish publishers we met, and the energetic leadership of the team who ran the fellowship all amounted to something even greater than its impressive parts.
Read more about the 2016 ITEF Fellowship here.
The Istanbul Tanpinar Literature Festival was launched by the Kalem Agency and its energetic founder, Nermin Mollaoglu, in 2009. (And Kalem celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2016.) The theme of the 2017 festival is “City and Voices,” and the full literary festival program is online here.
How to apply:
- Download the application form
- Email your completed for and a picture of you (max. file size 1MB) to Ms. Gizem Özgüven at fellowship@itef.com.tr
- Deadline: March 15, 2017
Germany: Frankfurt Book Fair New York Editors Trip
Editors in the tour visit Hamburg’s Strips & Stories bookshop. Image: German Book Office New York
The Frankfurt Book Fair New York (formerly the German Book Office New York) is now accepting applications for its 2017 Children’s Book Editors Trip to Germany from editors located in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This trip will take place June 25-July 1, 2017. It starts this year in Munich and ends in Frankfurt.
All expenses—including travel, transportation accommodation, and most meals—are covered by the organizers. The application deadline is February 28, 2017.
Each year, this office organizes an editors trip under a specific theme. This year, the focus is on children’s books. Past trips have focused on literary fiction, philosophy, university press publishing, and nonfiction.
Sponsored by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and the Frankfurter Buchmesse, these trips aim to facilitate networking between English-language editors and their German counterparts.
Participants visit publishing houses in several German cities, as well as the Frankfurter Buchmesse offices and other literary institutions.
David Gale, vice president and editorial director of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, was a participant in a previous Editors Trip. He had this to say of the experience: “For me, the most satisfying aspect of the trip was the fact that we got to discuss German and US publishing with such a large variety of people in many facets of the German book world. I had expected that this trip would just be German publishers pitching books to us, but this trip was so much more valuable than that in that everywhere we went there was a real dialogue among the participants that will benefit the Germans and the Americans equally.”
Read more about the German Editors Trips here, here, and here.
How to apply:
- Fill in the online application form
- Deadline: February 28, 2017
- Further questions? Email Riky Stock at stock@book-fair.com