Varuna Residential Fellowships
Varuna Residential Fellowships offer two to three weeks of full board and accommodation at Varuna, in the beautiful surrounds of the Blue Mountains. Originally the home of writers Eleanor Dark and Dr Eric Dark, the house and gardens of Varuna were gifted to the Australian public in 1989 by their son, Mick Dark, to be used as a retreat for writers.
Fellowships offer uninterrupted time to write in your own private studio and a one-hour mentorship conversation with a Varuna consultant. All food is provided, with an evening meal prepared by our chefs Jane, Sheila and Dionne, to be enjoyed with the companionship of your fellow writers - at any time, there are six writers-in-residence at Varuna.
Varuna welcomes manuscripts from writers working in all creative forms, including fiction, short stories, screenplay/drama, poetry, children’s books, and narrative non-fiction.
In 2025, Varuna will offer 33 Varuna Residential Fellowships, including our prestigious Flagship Fellowships.
KEY DATES
APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED
Date of residency: Between January and August 2025
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
Artistic merit is the most important criterion for our assessors, who are looking for strongly written characters, sound structure, compelling themes, a distinctive and engaging voice, and social and cultural relevance. Our assessors also consider the potential of your manuscript, based on the experience of the writer and their work plan.
Writers who have been awarded a Varuna Residential Fellowship in the last three years are not eligible to apply.
WHAT YOU NEED TO SEND US
You will need to send us between 7,000 and 10,000 words from the beginning of your manuscript, as well as answer questions about your experience and practice. For poetry, you need to send us a selection of 10 poems; for graphic novels a sample of 10 pages; for children’s picture books you may send us a full manuscript.
Read submission guidelines for details on preferred format.
APPLICATION FEES
Application fees are $70 per application, unless you are a financially current alumni member using your annual fee waiver.
If you have a Healthcare card, the application fee is $40.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, you can have your application fee waived via the Varuna Equity Fund. If you select the fee exemption option in the application form, you will need to provide a sentence or two about your situation.
Application fees are used to pay a team of professional assessors to read your work.
RESIDENCY FEES
If you are successful, you will be asked to make a contribution of $350 per week towards your residency, which goes towards the costs of running a residency program of this scale. If you are experiencing financial hardship and the fees pose a barrier to you accepting the fellowship, you can apply to have the Varuna Equity Access Fund cover this contribution.
Note there are no residency fees for the Carer’s, First Nations, Henry Handel Richardson, Jerra Studio and Ray Koppe/ASA Young Writer’s fellowships.
TRAVEL COSTS
Writers awarded a Flagship Fellowship will receive a travel subsidy of $350 if they live more than 300 km away, and writers receiving the Ray Koppe Fellowship or Henry Handel Richardson Fellowship will receive full reimbursement of travel expenses.
Healthcare card owners can apply to the Varuna Travel Assistance Fund for a travel subsidy of up to $350. All other fellowship recipients will need to meet their own travel expenses to and from Varuna.
Each year, a fully funded Fellowship and $350 travel subsidy is awarded to a writer who is a parent or carer who faces barriers to finding time and space to write due to financial pressures. This Fellowship is generously supported by Sophie Torney, a member of our alumni association.
FEATURED UPCOMING COURSES, FELLOWSHIPS AND EVENTS:
