Whitlam Essay Residency
Six fellowships are available for two-week-long residencies at the Whitlam Prime Ministerial home, at 32 Albert Street Cabramatta, with a focus on essay writing. Applicants can be Western Sydney University students, staff or alumni, and/or Varuna alumni.
Applications open: 6 January 2026
Applications close: 10 February 2026
Residency dates: 14-28 September 2026 or 28 September-12 October 2026 at 32 Albert Street Cabramatta, the Whitlam Prime Ministerial home
Places: Six writers will be selected, with each residency accommodating three writers.
Who should apply: Essayists at any career stage, who are either Varuna alumni or WSU students, staff or alumni
Fees: There are no application fees or residency fees for this program.
FAQs: Please read the FAQs before you apply.
Gough and Margaret Whitlam sitting in their home at 32 Albert Street, Cabramatta.
This residency is open to essayists at various stages of their career, who are either Varuna alumni or WSU students, staff or alumni. The essay form and focus is not restricted.
In honouring Whitlam’s legacy, we are particularly interested in essays that make research more relevant and accessible to the broader public, or that take a creative approach to exploring social or political concerns.
The Whitlam home at 32 Albert Street was an integral part of how Gough and Margaret connected with their community. Constituents were invited in to discuss matters of concern, and political functions and celebrations were a regular feature in the living room and backyard.
During the residency, participants will be invited to share their work at an evening Salon event open to the Cabramatta and Western Sydney arts communities, the Whitlam family and other dignitaries.
Residency fellowships will be offered in two blocks, with three places in each:
14-28 September 2026
28 September-12 October 2026
Each residency will include:
‘It’s time’ tea towel hangs on the Hills Hoist in the Whitlam backyard.
Two weeks’ accommodation in a private room (with a shared bathroom) at the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Home, 32 Albert Street Cabramatta, including all meals.
Uninterrupted time to write, feedback sessions, and the companionship of your fellow writers.
The opportunity to participate in an evening Salon event, sharing your work with the local community.
Your travel costs reimbursed.
A stipend of $400, which includes payment for sharing work at the evening Salon.
Residents will also have the opportunity to pitch the essays developed over the course of the fellowship to the Sydney Review of Books.
Margaret Whitlam (1972). Credit: National Archives of Australia
Margaret Whitlam Fellowship
One writer out of the six fellowship recipients will be chosen for the Margaret Whitlam Fellowship, an award which recognises an essayist whose work advances women’s autonomy, strengthens community wellbeing through attention to social policy, celebrates cultural curiosity, or encourages work on creative responses to social issues. This fellowship will receive a stipend of $1,000 (rather than $400) for the fortnight.
This fellowship honours Margaret Whitlam’s commitment to women’s rights, social justice, and her insistence that women define their own intellectual and public lives. With no restriction on form or focus, writers may align with her inspired declaration:
“We must write our history, reform our language, keep our own names, live our own lives, redefine our God, make our own laws, learn to defend ourselves, demand and get control of our bodies and affirm that it is feminine to think.”
HOW TO APPLY
You will need to complete a short application form and send us a sample essay of up to 5,000 words (either published or unpublished) demonstrating your writing style and area of focus, as well as a statement of intent describing your work, your previous writing experience, and how you would use the residency.
Assessors will be looking at your writing experience as an essayist, clarity of focus and objectives (how you will use your time), and the merit of your writing. They will also consider the balance of the group, with a view to ensuring the residency has a collegiate atmosphere.
Please refer to Varuna’s general submission guidelines for any questions on formatting your work.
Please note that the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Home is not wheelchair accessible. If you are an essayist who requires a wheelchair-accessible residency, we encourage you to apply for Varuna’s Residential Fellowships which open on 2 March 2026.
This program is presented in partnership with the Whitlam Institute.
UPCOMING FELLOWSHIPS, COURSES AND EVENTS
