Apply today!
Application deadline: October 19, 2025
This event is recommended by the Polish Cultural Institute New York.
The Book Institute remains in constant contact with translators of Polish literature from all over the world. Each year, we host a group of translators in Krakow and Warsaw, offering them conditions for quiet work on translations, library research, meetings with authors and publishers. We warmly invite you to apply!
Application Guidelines for the Translators’ Collegium 2026:
The Book Institute welcomes applications from both experienced translators with an extensive portfolio and those who are just beginning their journey in translating Polish literature.
This year, once again, they will award the A. Bodegård Fellowship, intended for a translator specializing in the translation of Polish literature into Swedish or French.
The Book Institute provides participants with:
- accommodation in apartments in Kraków or Warsaw,
- coverage of travel expenses (in accordance with the program regulations),
- a daily stipend of 100 PLN gross for each day of the stay,
- substantive and organizational support.
Participation Guidelines and Application
Applications for the program are accepted during September and October of the year preceding the planned stay.
The application must include:
- a completed application form (available for download below),
- a list of published translations,
- optional letters of recommendation.
Minimum stay: 21 days
Maximum stay: 30 days (in exceptional cases, up to 90 days with the Director’s approval).
Results will be announced within two months after the application deadline.
The contact person for the Translators’ Collegium program is Jolanta Łabaj
Candidates should submit their applications by email to: collegium@instytutksiazki.pl.
By the end of 2019, 110 translators from 37 countries had come to Kraków for 138 residency fellowships. Participating countries included: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Georgia, Spain, the Netherlands, India, Israel, Japan, Colombia, South Korea, Cuba, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the USA, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Italy.
During their residencies, translators worked on numerous projects, including:
- a new English translation of Revenge (Zemsta) by Aleksander Fredro (Philip Boehm),
- a Dutch translation of The Doll (Lalka) by Bolesław Prus (Karol Lesman),
- a Bulgarian version of My Correct Views on Everything by Leszek Kołakowski (Pravda Spasova),
- a Japanese translation of The Tiger and the Rose by Małgorzata Musierowicz (Kazuko Tamura),
- a Spanish edition of History of Film Thought by Helman and Ostaszewski (Desiderio Navarro),
- a Ukrainian translation of Critical Sketches by Bruno Schulz (Andriy Pavlyshyn),
- an Italian version of The Night Wanderers by Wojciech Jagielski (Marzena Borejczuk),
- a Finnish translation of Sword of Destiny (Miecz przeznaczenia) by Andrzej Sapkowski (Tapani Kärkkäinen),
- a Latvian translation of Ferdydurke by Witold Gombrowicz (Ingmara Balode),
- a French edition of A Horizon of Looking (Widnokrąg) by Wiesław Myśliwski (Margot Carlier),
- a Korean translation of short stories by Stanisław Lem (Jiwone Lee),
- a Turkish version of the play Fortinbras Gets Drunk (Fortynbras się upił) by Janusz Głowacki (Neşe Taluy Yüce),
- a Chinese edition of Travels with Herodotus (Podróże z Herodotem) by Ryszard Kapuściński (Wu Lan),
- a Czech translation of The Queen’s Peacock (Paw królowej) by Dorota Masłowska (Barbora Gregorová),
- a Hungarian translation of Witold Gombrowicz’s Diaries (András Pályi),
- a Vietnamese version of Lubiewo by Michał Witkowski (Nguyen Thi Thanh Thu),
- a French translation of The Books of Jacob (Księgi Jakubowe) by Olga Tokarczuk (Maryla Laurent),
- a Georgian edition of Prayers for the Rain (Modlitwy o deszcz) by Wojciech Jagielski (Ambrosi Grishikashvili),
- a Hungarian translation of The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk (Gábor Körner),
- a Japanese version of The Uncanny Tale (Niesamowita opowieść) by Stefan Babiński (Ayano Shibata),
- a German edition of Route 816 (Droga 816) by Michał K
Lead image: The Book Institute.
