The Carer’s Fellowship
This two-week fellowship will be awarded to an aspiring or emerging writer with disability whose work is of outstanding quality. This fellowship is generously supported by one of Varuna’s alumni.
Applications will open in March 2025
Dates: The fellowship can be taken between January - August 2026.
Places: One writer is selected every year as part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships program.
Who should apply: Writers with disability and/or who are D/deaf.
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.
Application fees are used to pay a team of professional assessors to read your work.
FAQ: Please read the FAQ before you apply.
The Carer’s Fellowship is part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships.
The recipient will receive:
A two-week residency at Varuna, with full board and accommodation including a prepared evening meal, uninterrupted time to write in your own private studio, and the companionship of your fellow writers.
A one-hour consultation with a Varuna mentor, Carol Major, Mary Anne Butler or Tegan Bennett-Daylight.
A travel subsidy of $350.
This Fellowship is generously supported by Sophie Torney, a member of our alumni association.
For more information about staying at Varuna, visit our Residencies page.
HOW TO APPLY
The Carer’s Fellowship 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. Applicants to our Varuna Residential Fellowship can request to be considered for this fellowship. There is no separate application process.
UPCOMING COURSES, FELLOWSHIPS AND EVENTS
Applications close 3 March 2025
The Ann Moyal Non-Fiction Fellowship encourages excellence in non-fiction writing and supports writers developing an original work drawn from the broad fields of the humanities and social sciences. Three writers will be selected for a three-week residency, 29 Sept - 20 Oct 2025.
Applications close 28 January 2025.
Commit to your writing and make 2025 the year you finish your memoir. In this in-depth online masterclass, award-winning author Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers over 9-months, with structured exercises, readings and feedback designed to help you finish a draft of your memoir.
Applications close Tuesday 4 February 2025
In partnership with Red Room Poetry, this fellowship for six poets includes a residency at Varuna, one-on-one mentorship, and a poetic commission as part of the national Poetry Month in August 2025.
Applications close 11 February 2025
Expand and nurture your practice as a poet in this 4-month program. We’ll create an encouraging and inspiring community, and support the development of original work, from single poems to sequences, and explore how to build a collection for publication.
Self-paced online course
Bring the Varuna magic to you with this nine-part online, self-paced course on point of view with Jane Messer. Explore this important element of writing craft, analysing sample readings from well-known authors and being prompted with a series of exercises.
Online self-paced course
Bring the Varuna magic to you with this eight-part online, self-paced course on writing for wellbeing. This revitalising program enables you to explore writing as a practice for your own wellbeing, including techniques for getting started (or re-started!).
Save the Date
The Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival returns 31 October - 2 November 2025.
Applications are now closed
First Nations writers are invited to apply for the opportunity to connect with Adivasi writers from India, first in residence at Varuna, then at a four-week residency at Sangam House in Bangalore.
Applications close 3 March 2025
The Ann Moyal Non-Fiction Fellowship encourages excellence in non-fiction writing and supports writers developing an original work drawn from the broad fields of the humanities and social sciences. Three writers will be selected for a three-week residency, 29 Sept - 20 Oct 2025.
Applications close 28 January 2025.
Commit to your writing and make 2025 the year you finish your memoir. In this in-depth online masterclass, award-winning author Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers over 9-months, with structured exercises, readings and feedback designed to help you finish a draft of your memoir.
Applications close Tuesday 4 February 2025
In partnership with Red Room Poetry, this fellowship for six poets includes a residency at Varuna, one-on-one mentorship, and a poetic commission as part of the national Poetry Month in August 2025.
Applications close 11 February 2025
Expand and nurture your practice as a poet in this 4-month program. We’ll create an encouraging and inspiring community, and support the development of original work, from single poems to sequences, and explore how to build a collection for publication.
Self-paced online course
Bring the Varuna magic to you with this nine-part online, self-paced course on point of view with Jane Messer. Explore this important element of writing craft, analysing sample readings from well-known authors and being prompted with a series of exercises.
Online self-paced course
Bring the Varuna magic to you with this eight-part online, self-paced course on writing for wellbeing. This revitalising program enables you to explore writing as a practice for your own wellbeing, including techniques for getting started (or re-started!).
Applications are now closed
First Nations writers are invited to apply for the opportunity to connect with Adivasi writers from India, first in residence at Varuna, then at a four-week residency at Sangam House in Bangalore.