For Writers
Varuna offer writers time and space to write in the ‘big yellow house’ in the Blue Mountains, with six writers-in-residence staying each week, benefiting from one-on-one mentorship, and the support of their peers. Writers can apply to stay at Varuna via one of our residency programs.
We also offer an extensive program of online masterclasses and intensives, designed to support writers to develop their craft, finish their project, and build connections. Unlike many other writing courses, Varuna masterclasses are by application, so that each of our online course groups is carefully curated with our expert facilitators.
Finally, we offer in-person workshops in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains, throughout the year as well as during the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival.
Red Room Poetry Fellowship 2025
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.
The Next Chapter Residencies
Applications are now closed
Residencies are awarded to recipients of The Wheeler Centre’s Next Chapter program, where four outstanding writers are provided with a year’s mentorship and $15,000 to develop their work.
The Writer's Space Online for Writers with Disability
Applications re now closed
Six online fellowships will be offered to writers with disability and/or who are D/deaf, providing mentorship, professional development, and the opportunity for peer feedback.
Scribe Varuna Fellowship
Applications are now closed
In partnership with independent press Scribe Publications, four fellowships will be awarded, with writers invited to participate in an intensive residency with Scribe editors.
Pitch Me! Agent and Publisher Introduction Program
Applications are now closed.
Open only to writers from Varuna’s recent Fellowship and Masterclass programs, the intention of Pitch Me! is to create opportunities for writers who are seeking a publishing contract or agency agreement.
Affirm Press Fellowship
Applications are now closed
The Affirm Press Mentorship Award provides a unique opportunity for writers to develop new work through a Varuna residency and editorial feedback.
Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival Workshops 1 - 3 November 2024
Memoir, crime, poetry, editing, pitching, contracts and so much more . . . This year's Festival workshop program features exceptional facilitators from all around Australia, each adept at discovering the writer — or illustrator — inside us all.
Varuna Residential Fellowships
Applications are now closed
Varuna’s most prestigious award, running since 1991. Up to 45 fellowships will be awarded to emerging and established writers across Australia, offering between two and four weeks in residence, with mentorship.
Queensland Writers Centre Fellowships
Applications are now closed
The Queensland Writers Centre offers two Varuna fellowships, both of which include a two-week residency at Varuna, travel subsidy and manuscript consultation, and are open to members of the Queensland Writers Centre.
The Jerra Studio Fellowship for Writers with Disability
Applications are now closed.
This two-week fellowship will be awarded for a Varuna Residential Fellowships application of outstanding quality, by a writer with disability.
Copyright Agency First Nations Fellowships
Applications will open soon
First Nations writers are invited to apply for one of twelve week-long fellowships at Varuna in 2025, sharing the residency with other First Nations writers, and benefiting from one-on-one mentorship and the sharing of skills and knowledge.
Ray Koppe ASA Young Writers Fellowship
Applications are now closed
Offered in partnership with the Australian Society of Authors, and generously supported by the Ray Koppe bequest, this is one of the Varuna flagship fellowships and is offered to a writer under the age of 35 who is as yet unpublished.
WestWords Varuna Emerging Writers Residency
Applications are now closed
The WestWords Varuna Fellowship offers four emerging writers from diverse backgrounds from Western Sydney the opportunity of a week-long residency, supported throughout the week by mentors.