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Literature

The Goethe-Institut expands the international literary dialogue through translation grants, readings, workshops and residencies. With our global networking activities, we create meeting places for cultural cooperation and mutual exchange. We strengthen the local literary scenes and book markets.
 

Book presentation in a big hall Jens Bisky – Book presentation in the Singelkerk in Amsterdam organized by the Goethe-Institut © Fabian Reichle

Arts funding and residencies

The Goethe-Institut promotes art and culture in a variety of projects in Germany and abroad. You can search by genre, funding type and duration.

Arts funding and residencies © Unsplash/Matthieu Comoy © Unsplash/Matthieu Comoy

Inform. Research. Discover.

Inform. Research. Discover.

Litrix.de

Litrix.de presents selected new books in German. The programme offers translation grants within the context of the selected focus language for a given period. Current special focus: 2025–2027 Polish.

Translation Grant Programme

For 50 years, the Goethe-Institut has been providing grants for translations of current German-language books in fiction, poetry, children's and youth books, non-fiction and graphic novels.

Traduki

The Goethe-Institut is a partner of Traduki, an European network for literature. With books, translations, festivals, workshops and residency programmes for authors and translators, it promotes exchange between the 14 participating countries.

Litprom

The Goethe-Institut cooperates in the field of translation funding with Litprom, a contact point for the promotion of translations for fictional works from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Arabic World, Israel and Turkey to the German-speaking market.

New Books in German

Book presentations for the English-speaking world: The project selects promising titles for translation into English from the abundance of new German-language publications.

 

Literature worldwide

“Zeitgeister“ Magazine

150 years of Thomas Mann

Thomas Mann was one of Germany's most important writers, a Nobel Prize winner and political commentator. He left behind an enduring literary legacy. On the occasion of his 150th birthday, our magazine “Zeitgeister” looks at his life and work.

150 years Thomas Mann © Autograf © Autograf

Northwestern Europa

Vorzeichen. Whom, What, and How We Read.

Through online readings and talks at the intersection of scholarship with the literary scene, as well as book reviews on Instagram, the series intends to open up spaces for texts and readers, different ways of reading and new perspectives on literature. 

Illustration, on the left-hand side you can see an open book against a beige background, illuminated from above by three spotlights. On the right-hand side, the same motif is smaller and can be seen five times on a bright orange background. © Goethe-Institut/ El Boum © Goethe-Institut/ El Boum

Namibia

Booksprint Namibia

In a single day, four creative volunteer teams from Namibia worked in just 12 hours to create beautiful Namibian children's books that anyone can freely translate, print and distribute.

Teambooksprint @ Goethe-Institut @ Goethe-Institut

About our work

By providing information about the German literary scene and formats of literature promotion as well as contacts to partner institutions, we create the basis for international cooperation in the field of literature and translation funding. In terms of content, we can count on the support of key figures from the German-language literary world.

At the forefront of our work are also the expansion and maintenance of the partner network, coordination of transnational projects and the organisation of book fair presentations. We are committed to strengthening local scenes in the form of continuing professional development for publishers and translators.

Contact

Please contact one of the worldwide branches of the Goethe-Institut abroad with all questions concerning local or regional projects.

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