Varuna Residential Fellowships FAQ

How much is the application fee for the program?

Application fees are $70 per application, unless you are a financially current alumni member using your annual fee waiver. This fee helps to cover the administrative costs of this program and to pay our assessors for their time reading your work. If you have a Healthcare card, the application fee is $40. If you are experiencing financial hardship, you can apply to the Varuna Equity Access Fund to have your fees waived, you will need to provide 1-2 sentences about your situation in the application form.

If I am successful, are there any fees for participating in the program?

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. You will also need to meet your own travel expenses to and from Varuna.

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.

If you are experiencing financial hardship and cannot afford to pay this fee, you may apply to the Varuna Equity Access Fund to have these fees waived or reduced. To apply for this Equity Fund, we simply need the name of the program you’re applying for, and why the opportunity would be beneficial. You do not need to extensively detail your financial status or disadvantage.

What about travel costs?

You will need to meet your travel costs to get to and from Varuna*. If you have a Healthcare card, you may apply to the Varuna Travel Assistance Fund for a subsidy of up to $300. Also, State and Territory funding bodies are often willing to provide a contribution for travel expenses to support genuine professional development opportunities.

*The Henry Handel Richardson Flagship Fellowship and the Ray Koppe Fellowship include a contribution towards travel expenses.

Am I required to take my fellowship at a specific time of year?

The residencies will need to be taken between January and August 2025, subject to availability in the house.

When will I be notified regarding the outcome?

You will be notified of the outcome of your submission by email, and the fellowship recipients will be announced on our website early September 2024.

Will I receive feedback upon my work?

Unfortunately, selectors are not able to discuss the selection process or offer individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

I’ve missed the deadline. Can I still submit an application?

No. Unfortunately no applications will be accepted after the deadline date.

I submitted work to this fellowship last year. Can I resubmit the same work this year?

While there is no limit to how often you may apply for a fellowship, we request that you do not resubmit a work that you have already submitted in a previous year unless there has been substantial reworking/revision.

I do not have a complete manuscript yet. Can I still apply?

Absolutely.

Is there a word limit for my submission?

Yes, the word limit is 10,000 words. Please read Preparing your submission for more information.

Does Varuna have access for writers with disability or who are D/deaf?

We now have a wheelchair-accessible studio and a Disability Inclusion Action Plan so we can work on eliminating potential barriers to accessing our programs. If you are a writer with disability, please read Accessibility at Varuna. You can also email maeve@varuna.com.au if you have any questions or to discuss your specific requirements.

Can a support worker stay with me during my residency?

If you notify us in advance of your residency that you would like a support worker to stay with you, we can make arrangements for them to either stay in a nearby holiday house or on site if space is available. If you receive NDIS funding, we can provide any information required to ensure your NDIS support can be used to assist your stay.

Can I apply for more than one Varuna fellowship at a time?

Yes. If more than one fellowship program is open, you are welcome to apply for as many programs as you wish.

I received a Varuna Residential fellowship previously. Can I apply for a fellowship again?

There is a three-year time limit for each program. Therefore, if you were awarded a Varuna Residential fellowship in late 2021 to come and take your residency in 2022, you cannot apply for a Varuna Residential fellowship until 2024 (for a fellowship in 2025). Flagship Fellowships are a subset of the Varuna Residential fellowships and are included in this three-year time limit.

However, you can apply for a Varuna Residential fellowship if you received a different Varuna fellowship within this period. For example, if you received a Writer’s Space fellowship within the last three years, you are still eligible to apply for a Varuna Residential fellowship. 

Can I apply for a fellowship submitting work that is already under contract with a publisher?

Yes. You may apply for a fellowship for work that has not yet been completed, but that is under contract with a publisher.

If I am awarded a fellowship with this program, does this mean I am offered a publishing contract?

No, the program doesn’t include a publishing contract.

I work with another writer collaboratively. If our application is successful, can we come to Varuna together?

If your writing is genuinely a joint work, please contact maeve@varuna.com.au to explain your specific requirements. We will try to accommodate you if we possibly can. 

Can I submit more than one application?

Yes. However you will need to pay an application fee for each application you submit. Note that fee waivers for financial hardship are only available for one application.

Can I submit multiple samples of work within one application, to demonstrate a portfolio approach to my writing?

This is a tricky one, we understand why you would want to do this! However, for the sake of our assessors we do ask that you keep it simple and include one sample of work per application. You can submit more than one application if, for example, you would like your poetry project and non-fiction project to both be considered by our assessors.

Who is eligible to apply?

Applicants need to be an Australian citizen or have a permanent residency visa and be over 18 years old.

Exemption may be given to permanent residency criteria, but only in the circumstances of recently arrived migrants/refugees.