Albertine Foundation works in partnership with Villa Albertine’s Books & Ideas department, the Institut français, and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, to promote French and Francophone literature, offering several programs to support the English translation of French books in all categories (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children’s books, and comics).
Villa Albertine runs two programs in the United States: The Albertine Translation Fund and Prizes, and Acquisition of Rights.
For information about the Acquisition of Rights program, please click here.
About the Albertine Translation Fund
In 2022, Albetine Foundation and Villa Albertine’s Books & Ideas department launched the Albertine Translation Fund, an expanded and updated version of the former French Voices program.
Thanks to the support of the Florence Gould Foundation, this initiative rewards high-quality English translations of French works, recognizing both the original text and the translation. A committee of independent experts—academics, translators, booksellers, and publishing consultants—selects titles that reflect the diversity and vitality of contemporary French literature.
Each selected book receives:
$2,000 to support publication costsUp to $5,000 (50% of translation costs)
For a maximum of $7,000 per project
The program primarily supports titles published in France within the past 10 years. However, each funding cycle may include one grant for a classic work of French or Francophone literature—a title that has been previously overlooked or is in need of a new translation.
Titles without a U.S. publisher at the time of selection may still be eligible. In such cases, the French publisher has one year to secure a U.S. publishing contract. If no agreement is reached within that time, the grant is withdrawn.
Translators, French Publishers and US Publishers may apply. The English-language publisher must have an address in the US to receive the grant. Publishers based solely in the UK, Canada or India, for example, are not eligible.
Books published in the U.S. with support from the fund must feature the Albertine Translation Fund logo on their cover or back cover, as well as a credit line on the copyright page (provided by Villa Albertine).
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In addition, two Albertine Translation Prizes are awarded each year, thanks to the generous support of Van Cleef & Arpels:
Each prize awards $5,000 to the translator.
THE SECOND 2025 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS IS OPEN
APPLICATION FORM
APPLICATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 3, 2025Please note that only books to be published starting March 2026 will be eligible for this session. Results will be announced in early December 2025.
Books & Ideas Department translation@villa-albertine.org