Bulgarian Cultural Journalists Study Visits

Next Page Foundation is announcing a call for proposals for Bulgarian cultural journalists interested in participating in its new program – the Cultural Journalists Study Visits.

Why?

The experience of Next Page Foundation shows that there is a strong mutual interest in the intellectual and publishing production of the Central and East European region but that there is also a paucity of channels for information and exchange to sustain that interest. The study visits that Next Page is launching in 20 countries aim to facilitate this cultural and literary exchange and provide an opportunity for direct encounters of cultural journalists with the publishing and literary arenas of the participating countries.

We offer:

Travel bursaries for journalists (covering travel, accommodation and per diem for 5-7 days) Journalists will be given the opportunity to travel and study the publishing industry of another country in the region, meet colleagues, publishers and other actors in the field and come up with series of articles to be published in their country of origin. The visits in the recipient country will be organized by highly qualified organizations with experience in publishing, cultural and literary matters.

Depending on the quality of the applications and the overall budget of the program, we will fund 1 to 3 people visiting respectively 1 to 3 countries

We are looking for journalists:

  with experience in book and publishing related journalism, and a good knowledge on how publishing industries operate;
  with a good knowledge of English;
  knowledge of the language of the recipient country is an advantage

The journalists’ visits should result in a minimum of 2 articles to be published in Bulgarian periodicals by the journalists’ own arrangement.

Countries that may be visited:

Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine Strong priority will be given to “pairing” with countries across the EU-divide, e.g. between EU members/accession countries and others. Study visits to countries that already have relatively strong publishing and literary links with Bulgaria will not be considered.

How to apply:

By the 1st August 2005, please send the following documents to Maria Velichkova:

  a CV
  a list of all publications related to literature and the book market copies of up to 3 publications on these topics
  a letter of motivation (max 1 p.) focusing on the choice of the country/ countries you would like to visit

Successful applicants will be informed on the Next Page Foundation’s decision by the 1st September 2005. We reserve the right not to nominate any successful applicants if the competition criteria are not being met.