fwd Platform
Building on the successful experience of the international project CELA (Connecting Emerging Literary Artists), which has supported the professional development of emerging writers and literary translators from across Europe since 2017, the project team has launched fwd — a new European platform dedicated to bringing contemporary literature to readers around the world.
What is fwd?
While CELA focuses primarily on developing literary talent, fwd aims to help emerging European authors reach wider international audiences through the translation, publication and promotion of their books.
fwd brings together publishers and exciting new literary voices from across Europe. Through a curated selection process and two dedicated grant programmes, the platform supports publishers in discovering, translating, publishing and promoting new European books.
fwd focuses on prose books from smaller language markets. The platform currently brings together 15 literary organisations from 13 European countries.
The platform is coordinated by International Literature House Wintertuin in the Netherlands.
200+ literary professionals
15 literary organisations
450 million potential European readers
50 promotion grants
A project across Europe
The Book Arsenal team is part of the fwd platform together with organisations from:
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Italy
- Latvia
- the Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Serbia
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
The selection process
fwd works with a carefully curated longlist featuring the best new books by emerging European authors, published after 2023. The books are selected by a network of leading literary critics, translators, publishers and other literary professionals from participating countries.
Opportunities offered by fwd
fwd gives publishers the opportunity to be among the first to discover a selection of works by emerging European authors with strong international potential.
By joining fwd, publishers become part of a European network focused on discovering new literary voices, supporting translation and fostering international collaboration. The programme increases the visibility of selected books through international branding, promotion and reader-focused campaigns.
The platform also places a strong emphasis on audience engagement. fwd books will be featured in a dedicated app where readers will be able to discuss their reading experiences with one another and connect with translators and authors to share their thoughts.
At the heart of fwd is the ambition to build lasting connections between publishers, translators, writers and a new generation of European readers.
Team
Events
This section covers events organized by the fwd (Forward Platform) and CELA platforms