The HALMA scholarship wants to enable and to deepen cooperation between the literary scenes of different European countries. Holders of a HALMA scholarship establish ties with colleagues beyond national borders. They are both ambassadors and connecting links between their native and their host countries. The establishment of relations between guests and hosts should function and continue to grow beyond the duration of the scholarship itself.
HALMA organizes scholarships for writers, translators and promoters of literature. Each scholarship lasts for two months, and includes a grant holder’s stay in at least two different host countries. Usually grant holders spend one month in the first host country and then travel to a second one. It is possible, however, to travel to more than two countries within these two months. Each grant holder receives 1000 Euro a month and is granted a travel budget of 750 Euro total. Grant holders are selected by their respective home country in collaboration with HALMA.
An application is not possible.
Grant holders spend their time in places with unique approaches to the country’s or region’s literature. Some houses attend to the heritage of a particular writer, others are directly associated wih publishing houses, are run by writers’ associations, are devoted to the promotion of translators, or connect all or many of these approaches. The HALMA institutions actively care for the scholarship holders and introduce them to their host country’s literary scene. Additionally, the houses provide various insights into the culture and history of their country or region (further information about the houses can be found in the category houses).
Moreover, HALMA scholarship holders get the chance to present their work to their host countries’ public. Each scholarship includes the organization of two events (readings, workshops or lectures). It is left to the dynamism of the stay and the author’s personal interest to determine the concrete specifics of the event.
At the end of the scholarship, every holder may publish via the HALMA network. This publication is a literary text or essay which deals with experiences made in the context of the scholarship, or topics of the Halma network. It may also be an extract of a translation made in the context of the scholarship. All of these works are collected and published in the online library of the HALMA website.