Paul Celan Fellowship for Translators

Objective

The aim of the Paul Celan Fellowship Program is to overcome deficits and asymmetries in the exchange of ideas and the reception of scholarly literature that result from the division of Europe in the twentieth century. Therefore, the program supports translations of canonical texts and contemporary key works in the humanities, social sciences, and cultural studies from Eastern to Western, Western to Eastern, or between two Eastern European languages. Special emphasis is put on translations of relevant works written by East European authors and/or by female scholars. A thematic relation to one of the research fields of the IWM is likewise welcomed.

Please note that fiction and poetry will not be accepted.

Conditions

Paul Celan Visiting Fellows are invited to spend three months between September 2024 and June 2025 at the IWM to pursue their translation projects. Fellows receive a monthly stipend in the amount of EUR 3,000 to cover all expenses related to their stay in Vienna. In addition, the IWM provides the fellows with an office including access to internet, in-house research and administrative facilities, as well as other services free of charge. Generally, fellowships start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

Application

Applications must be submitted through the IWM's online application form; we will be unable to consider applications sent via email.

Application materials consist of the following:

• a brief letter of motivation that addresses how the project would benefit from time at the IWM, the connection to the IWM’s mission and research, and concrete research/writing goals during the fellowship
• a project description (max. 550 characters)
• a project proposal (max. 7,500 characters incl. spaces) containing a description of the project’s a) objectives, b) the state of the art, c) methods, and d) a work plan
• a curriculum vitae with a bibliography of translations and other relevant publications
• a contract or a letter of intent from a publisher
• proof that the translator/publisher holds the rights to the translation and its publication (or has an option on them)

All application materials should be in English.

Important! Attached documents must be combined into a single PDF, as the online submission form only allows for one attachment. File names of attachments must use Latin characters. 

Deadline for application: 4 February 2024, 23:59 CET

Selection

The finalists will be selected by a jury of experts. Applicants will be notified of the jury’s decision in the spring semester of 2024. The jury is not required to publicly justify its decisions, nor to provide applicants individual feedback on their applications.