Applications close 17 March

Held in collaboration with the Irish Writers Centre, this online fellowship connects writers from Ireland and Australia, with mentorship, networking and peer feedback, plus Q&As with Pip Williams and Penguin Random House publisher Meredith Curnow.

Applications close 7 April

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.

Applications close 5 May

Varuna’s most prestigious award, running since 1991. Up to 38 fellowships will be awarded to emerging and established writers across Australia, offering between two and four weeks in residence, with mentorship.

Applications close 5 May 2025

Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer Eleanor Dark, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded to a fiction application of outstanding quality.

Applications close 5 May 2025

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 close 5 May 2025

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 close 5 May 2025

As part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships, a two-week fellowship with travel costs covered and a $600 stipend is awarded to a writer of outstanding talent who is experiencing financial hardship. This Fellowship is made possible in 2025 by a member of our alumni association.

Applications close 5 May 2025

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 close 5 May 2025

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

Applications close 5 May 2025

This three-week fellowship will be awarded for a Varuna Residential Fellowships poetry application of outstanding quality.

Applications close 5 May 2025

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.

Applications close 5 May 2025

Generously supported by the Fowler Trust, this program supports four two-week fellowships for fiction writers, including women’s fiction, crime, fantasy, historical fiction, speculative fiction and YA.