Whitlam Essay Residency Fellowship FAQ

ELIGIBILITY

When am I able to undertake my residency?
Six recipients will be split across two fellowship weeks - 28 April - 5 May 2025 and 5 May - 12 May 2025.

What are the eligibility requirements for this fellowship?
Applicants need to be either be a member of Varuna’s alumni or connected to Western Sydney University as staff, students or alumni. 

Applicants must also 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.

I am an Australian citizen living overseas. May I apply?
Yes, but we do not cover international travel costs to attend a residency.

I live in Australia but I am not a citizen or permanent resident. May I apply?
For our fellowship programs, exemption may be given to permanent residency criteria, but only in the circumstances of recently arrived migrants/refugees. Our Online Masterclasses, however, are open to all. 

What is the application fee for this program?
There is no application fee for this program.

Do I have to pay anything to stay at Varuna?
There are no costs assocated with this fellowship, and your travel expenses will be reimbursed.

Do you provide any support for travel costs
Varuna will reimburse all travel expenses between your home and Katoomba, economy airfares and bus or train tickets. You will be expected to book travel in a timely manner once the residency is confirmed, to avoid excessive pricing.

Will I receive any payment in the form of stipends or per diems?
You will receive a stipend of $500, which includes a $300 honorarium and a $200 payment for your involvement in a public event during your residency.

I have missed the deadline. May I submit a late application?
No. Unfortunately, no applications will be accepted after the deadline date.

How and when will I be notified of the outcome of my submission?
You will be notified of the outcome of your submission by email within two months of the submission deadline.

I have previously been awarded this fellowship. May I apply again?
If you have received a Whitlam Essay Residency Fellowship in the last three years you may not apply again, however if you have been awarded a fellowship through one of our other programs in that time, for example a First Nations Fellowship or a Writer's Space Fellowship, you may apply.

May I apply for multiple fellowships in the same year?
Yes. For example, if our Copyright Agency First Nations Fellowship was open at the same time as the Whitlam Essay Residency, you would be welcome to apply for both.

YOUR APPLICATION

Am I able to submit more than one application?
No. We ask that you only submit one application for this program. 

Can I submit a manuscript that is 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.

Can I submit a project if I am working on it collaboratively with another writer?
No, the Whitlam Essay Residency is not open to joint submissions. The Whitlam home only has three bedrooms so it would not work to have two of those rooms occupied by a collaborating pair of writers.

If selected, does this fellowship guarantee a publishing contract?
No, this fellowship does not include a publishing contract.

If selected, can my manuscript be offered to agents and publishers?
Yes.

Will I receive feedback on my application?
You will be informed via email whether your application for a Fellowship has been successful via email. Unfortunately, we are not able to discuss the selection process or offer individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants - Varuna receives a high volume of applications and we simply do not have the staff time available to provide individual feedback. 

May I apply with same manuscript I submitted last year?
While there is no limit to how often you may apply for a fellowship or how many different fellowships you may apply for, we request that you do not resubmit a work that you have already submitted to the same program in a previous year unless there has been substantial reworking/revision.

May I apply without a complete manuscript?
Yes.

How should I format my writing excerpt?
As we assess submissions 'blind' it is very important that you do not include your name or identifying details on any portion of your submission.

You will need to save your submission as a single PDF document. Please use the name of your project as the PDF submission name, ensuring the name of the file is 25 characters or less. To convert a Word file to a PDF, go to the File menu in Microsoft Word, select PDF as your file format, then select ‘Save As’.

Please note the following when formatting your work.

General: Submitted work should be predominantly in English

Fonts: Ideally, your work should be in Times New Roman (font size 12).

Spacing: For long-form work (i.e. fiction or essays), it is helpful if you can use double-spacing and include margins of 1 cm on both left and right. However, when work is double-spaced, it can be hard discerning where one paragraph ends and another begins. For this reason, please indent the first line of each new paragraph (you can set up a style in Word to do this automatically).

Headers: Include an identifying title and the page number on the top-right-hand corner of each page.

Plays can be formatted according to the Australian Plays Transform submission guidelines.

Screenplays can be formatted according to Australian Writers’ Centre recommendations.

What is the word limit for my writing excerpt?
We ask for a sample essay of up to 5,000 words.

May I submit multiple samples to show a portfolio of work?
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.

Can I provide end notes?
Yes.

How do I write about my previous experience without including identifying information?
Try to indicate the level of your experience without being too specific. For example, you might write ‘I have had many essays published in literary journals, including Griffith Review and Meanjin, and my first novel was published by Black Inc. in September 2016.’ In general, it is advised not to include the titles of any published works. You can however mention any awards or fellowships received.

ACCESSIBILITY

Unfortunately the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Home is currently not wheelchair accessible. If you are an essayist who requires a wheelchair-accessible residency, we encourage you to apply for The Writer’s Space Fellowship.

If you have further questions, please contact us at varuna@varuna.com.au or call us on (02) 4782 5674