Ministry of Culture launches literary creation grants for comics and children's books

Comics and Children's and Young Adult Literature will have a specific program of literary creation grants, with the award of nine in each area, with rules identical to the others, the Ministry of Culture announced today.

In a statement, the Ministry of Culture revealed that a literary creation grant program will be created dedicated to Comics and Children's and Young Adult Literature, with a total value of 270 thousand euros for the 18 annual grants, which will have territorial quotas, without imposing exclusivity on the beneficiaries.

“As a way of promoting these areas, artistic residencies will be promoted in public libraries and in the Network of Portuguese Theatres and Cinemas, within the scope of the Ministry of Culture’s programmes developed in partnership with local authorities”, added the ministry.

The Ministry of Culture recalled that, when presenting the new edition of literary creation grants, on the 11th of this month, Minister Dalila Rodrigues stated that the genres that had been left out of those 24 grants would be “the subject of specific programs because [it was decided] to limit these grants to the adult public, in terms of the scope of the work to be developed, leaving out children's and young people's works, and also other genres, such as comics”.

The ministry plans to publish the corresponding ordinance shortly and recalls that the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries will be responsible for managing the program.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Culture announced that it would open a new edition of the literary creation grant program, which will award 24 annual grants worth 15 thousand euros each, now including essays and excluding children's and young adult literature and comics, two areas that will now be covered by the grants revealed today.

Days after this first announcement, at least 200 people linked to the visual arts signed an open letter, addressed to the Minister of Culture, lamenting the exclusion of comics from literary creation grants, considering that the decision devalues ​​the production of this art.

The literary creation grant program was resumed in 2017, when the Ministry of Culture was headed by Luís Filipe Castro Mendes, after a 15-year interruption.

In 2024, the general program did not open, with only the competition for literary creation grants being available as part of the Commemorations of the 50th anniversary of April 25th, which awarded eight biannual grants, totaling 60 thousand euros.

In 2023, the program awarded 24 scholarships, divided into 12 annual and 12 semiannual scholarships, the first worth 15 thousand euros and the second worth 7,500.

Between 2017 and 2023, the names of authors supported ranged from Nuno Saraiva, Francisco de Sousa Lobo, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Ana Teresa Pereira, Judite Canha Fernandes, Afonso Reis Cabral, Valério Romão, Matilde Campilho and Andreia Faria to Tiago Schwäbl, Mariana Correia Pinto and Hugo Gonçalves, among many others.

According to the ministry's accounting, “since 1997, within the scope of grant programs for literary creation, 26 grants were awarded for Comics, 15 for Children and Youth, 90 for Narrative Fiction, 40 for Poetry and 20 for Dramaturgy”.

Comics and Children's and Young Adult Literature will have a specific program of literary creation grants, with the award of nine in each area, with rules identical to the others, the Ministry of Culture announced today.

In a statement, the Ministry of Culture revealed that a literary creation grant program will be created dedicated to Comics and Children's and Young Adult Literature, with a total value of 270 thousand euros for the 18 annual grants, which will have territorial quotas, without imposing exclusivity on the beneficiaries.

“As a way of promoting these areas, artistic residencies will be promoted in public libraries and in the Network of Portuguese Theatres and Cinemas, within the scope of the Ministry of Culture’s programmes developed in partnership with local authorities”, added the ministry.

The Ministry of Culture recalled that, when presenting the new edition of literary creation grants, on the 11th of this month, Minister Dalila Rodrigues stated that the genres that had been left out of those 24 grants would be “the subject of specific programs because [it was decided] to limit these grants to the adult public, in terms of the scope of the work to be developed, leaving out children's and young people's works, and also other genres, such as comics”.

The ministry plans to publish the corresponding ordinance shortly and recalls that the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries will be responsible for managing the program.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Culture announced that it would open a new edition of the literary creation grant program, which will award 24 annual grants worth 15 thousand euros each, now including essays and excluding children's and young adult literature and comics, two areas that will now be covered by the grants revealed today.

Days after this first announcement, at least 200 people linked to the visual arts signed an open letter, addressed to the Minister of Culture, lamenting the exclusion of comics from literary creation grants, considering that the decision devalues ​​the production of this art.

The literary creation grant program was resumed in 2017, when the Ministry of Culture was headed by Luís Filipe Castro Mendes, after a 15-year interruption.

In 2024, the general program did not open, with only the competition for literary creation grants being available as part of the Commemorations of the 50th anniversary of April 25th, which awarded eight biannual grants, totaling 60 thousand euros.

In 2023, the program awarded 24 scholarships, divided into 12 annual and 12 semiannual scholarships, the first worth 15 thousand euros and the second worth 7,500.

Between 2017 and 2023, the names of authors supported ranged from Nuno Saraiva, Francisco de Sousa Lobo, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Ana Teresa Pereira, Judite Canha Fernandes, Afonso Reis Cabral, Valério Romão, Matilde Campilho and Andreia Faria to Tiago Schwäbl, Mariana Correia Pinto and Hugo Gonçalves, among many others.

According to the ministry's accounting, “since 1997, within the scope of grant programs for literary creation, 26 grants were awarded for Comics, 15 for Children and Youth, 90 for Narrative Fiction, 40 for Poetry and 20 for Dramaturgy”.

Comics and Children's and Young Adult Literature will have a specific program of literary creation grants, with the award of nine in each area, with rules identical to the others, the Ministry of Culture announced today.

In a statement, the Ministry of Culture revealed that a literary creation grant program will be created dedicated to Comics and Children's and Young Adult Literature, with a total value of 270 thousand euros for the 18 annual grants, which will have territorial quotas, without imposing exclusivity on the beneficiaries.

“As a way of promoting these areas, artistic residencies will be promoted in public libraries and in the Network of Portuguese Theatres and Cinemas, within the scope of the Ministry of Culture’s programmes developed in partnership with local authorities”, added the ministry.

The Ministry of Culture recalled that, when presenting the new edition of literary creation grants, on the 11th of this month, Minister Dalila Rodrigues stated that the genres that had been left out of those 24 grants would be “the subject of specific programs because [it was decided] to limit these grants to the adult public, in terms of the scope of the work to be developed, leaving out children's and young people's works, and also other genres, such as comics”.

The ministry plans to publish the corresponding ordinance shortly and recalls that the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries will be responsible for managing the program.

On the 11th, the Ministry of Culture announced that it would open a new edition of the literary creation grant program, which will award 24 annual grants worth 15 thousand euros each, now including essays and excluding children's and young adult literature and comics, two areas that will now be covered by the grants revealed today.

Days after this first announcement, at least 200 people linked to the visual arts signed an open letter, addressed to the Minister of Culture, lamenting the exclusion of comics from literary creation grants, considering that the decision devalues ​​the production of this art.

The literary creation grant program was resumed in 2017, when the Ministry of Culture was headed by Luís Filipe Castro Mendes, after a 15-year interruption.

In 2024, the general program did not open, with only the competition for literary creation grants being available as part of the Commemorations of the 50th anniversary of April 25th, which awarded eight biannual grants, totaling 60 thousand euros.

In 2023, the program awarded 24 scholarships, divided into 12 annual and 12 semiannual scholarships, the first worth 15 thousand euros and the second worth 7,500.

Between 2017 and 2023, the names of authors supported ranged from Nuno Saraiva, Francisco de Sousa Lobo, Djaimilia Pereira de Almeida, Ana Teresa Pereira, Judite Canha Fernandes, Afonso Reis Cabral, Valério Romão, Matilde Campilho and Andreia Faria to Tiago Schwäbl, Mariana Correia Pinto and Hugo Gonçalves, among many others.

According to the ministry's accounting, “since 1997, within the scope of grant programs for literary creation, 26 grants were awarded for Comics, 15 for Children and Youth, 90 for Narrative Fiction, 40 for Poetry and 20 for Dramaturgy”.