The British Columbia Arts Council (BCAC) is accepting applications for its Operating Assistance: Book Publishers Program to provide funding to assist the general operations of established, professional B.C.-based, Canadian-owned book publishers committed to developing and promoting Canadian writers through publishing works of literary, artistic, or cultural importance for the general public.
Funding Information
The minimum grant amount is $20,000. There is no maximum grant amount.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible, an organization must be:
A professional book publisher based and registered and in good standing in B.C. as a non-profit society for at least one year;
a B.C.-based, Canadian-owned book publisher that is a legally registered company in B.C.;
a book publisher led by an Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) community organization or Indigenous government in B.C., for at least one fiscal year prior to application, with a community-based board of management that sets editorial policies
a professional book publisher operated by an accredited post-secondary institution in B.C. with an independent advisory board that sets editorial and other policies for programs and services undertaken;
Engage professionals in artistic, editorial, curatorial, administrative, or project leadership;
Fairly compensate artists, arts and cultural practitioners, technicians, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers. Compensation must align with community contexts and industry standards within the field of practice, including adhering to international intellectual property rights standards and cultural ownership protocols;
Adhere to the Criminal Records Review Act which requires that people who work with or may have unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults must undergo a criminal record check by the Criminal Records Review Program;
Have its head office, general office, editorial office, general operations, and management based in B.C. for at least one fiscal year prior to application;
In the case of legally registered companies, be managed and financially controlled by B.C. residents who own at least 75% of the company;
Have operated in B.C. for a minimum of one year with book publishing as the primary (and not peripheral or occasional) business, with the publication of original titles as the focus;
Maintain full control of the editorial process and have editorial independence from any other company. Where affiliations exist, publishers must be able to demonstrate separate editorial departments, budgets, and financial statements for each book publishing operation;
Have at least four eligible titles in print, have published at least two eligible titles in the previous year, and be committed to an ongoing program of publishing eligible titles;
Issue royalty statements on a regular basis and fulfill all contractual obligations to writers, illustrators, translators, and other copyright licensors. Publishers owing payments as of the submission deadline may not be eligible for funding; and
Have received at least one Project Assistance grant from the BC Arts Council within the past seven years. Grant programs that fulfill this eligibility criteria include Professional Project Assistance; Arts-Based Community Development; and Arts Impact Grants. Grant programs that do not fulfill this eligibility criteria include, but are not limited to: Pivot Program; Arts Infrastructure; Resilience Supplements; Community Arts Festivals; Project Assistance: Community Arts Organizations; Touring; Early Career Development; Youth Engagement; or Co-op Placement.
