Applications now closed

Varuna is delighted to offer this four-week international residency to Varuna alumni, held in collaboration with the Michael King Writers Centre in New Zealand and the Verb Readers and Writers Festival in Wellington.

Applications are now closed

This three-week fellowship will be awarded to a First Nations writer who applies for a Varuna Residential Fellowship and whose work is of outstanding quality.

Applications are now closed

Established in memory of Mick Dark, who bequeathed Varuna House to the writers of Australia, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded to outstanding Environmental Writing.

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.

Applications are now closed

Varuna alumni are eligible to apply for a four-week residency at Cove Park, Scotland, with the opportunity to present at Wigtown Book Festival.

Applications are now closed

Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer and social activist Eric Dark, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded for a non-fiction application of outstanding quality in social, historical or political writing.

Applications are now closed

This program is presented in partnership with the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing (RCALC) and is open to emerging or established writers, living in regional and remote parts of Australia.

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.

Applications are now closed

This program is presented in partnership with the Northern Territory Government through Arts NT. Submissions are welcomed from eligible NT-based writers.

Applications now closed

Writers focused on climate change and the environment are invited to apply for a week-long residency, with the opportunity to network and connect with others working across literature, academia, journalism, grassroots organising and activism.

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.

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.

Save the Date

The Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival returns 31 October - 2 November 2025.

Applications close 12 December 2024

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 are now closed

This program is presented in partnership with the Whitlam Institute with support from Western Sydney Creative, Western Sydney University’s arts and culture decadal strategy.

Applications are now closed

Six two-week residential fellowships will be offered to writers with disability and/or who are D/deaf.

Applications are now closed

This six-session intensive masterclass – held across three months for writers at all stages of their careers – offers the opportunity to get started on a new writing project or breathe life into a project you have abandoned or are struggling with.

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. 

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.

Applications have now closed.

A one-week residency, including travel subsidy and manuscript consultation, is open to Writers SA members who are emerging writers and poets who live in South Australia.