Writing NSW Fellowships
Writing NSW awards a single one-week Varuna residency to members of Writing NSW for manuscripts, plays or poem collections ready for the next stage of development.
Applications close: 11 August 2025
Places: One writer is selected.
Who should apply: Applicants must be Writing NSW members and be willing to commit to developing their work.
Dates: The fellowship can be taken in 2025, with exact dates negotiated directly with Varuna, the Writers’ House, according to Varuna’s existing schedule.
Fees: There is a $45 application fee for administration costs.
The Writing NSW fellowship includes a week’s residency at Varuna, with full board and accommodation including a prepared evening meal, uninterrupted time to write in your own private studio, and the companionship of your fellow writers.
The fellowship is awarded annually to a writer with a work of fiction, creative non-fiction, a play, or a suite of poems that is ready for the next stage of development. Applicants must be Writing NSW members and be willing to commit to developing their work.
For more information about staying at Varuna, visit our Residencies page.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants must be Writing NSW members and be willing to commit to developing their work.
Application Requirements
1. A combined document (maximum two pages total) that includes:
a one page statement on how the Fellowship will aid the development of your project, and
a one page synopsis of your project.
2. An extract from your manuscript of no more than 10 pages.
Once you submit your application you will be directed to a page to pay the $45 administration fee. Terms and conditions can be found on the application form.
Before beginning the application it is strongly recommended that you are logged-in as a member to the Writing NSW website.
PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS
Previous recipients include Lucy Nelson, Hajer Al-awsi, Cleo Mees, Jordan Shea, Kylie Boltin, Eleanor Kirk, Kaya Wilson, Winnie Dunn, Tanya Vavilova, Karina Young, Adele Dumont, Christopher McDonald, Irma Gold, Alex Chalwell, Mark Brandi, Jacqui Dent, Helen Thurloe, Lucie Stevens, Alison Thompson and Greg Woodland.
TESTIMONIALS
“The Writing NSW – Varuna Fellowship came at the perfect time, in the midst of turmoil, it provided peace and time to process and heal with my creativity. I was able to delve a little deeper into each disclosure of violence I had in the making. Through the one-on-one conversation with my chosen mentor I was able to refocus and find the central question to each poem and work on looking at it from a narrative perspective, it affirmed my need to strengthen my story telling by being unafraid to hold my reader’s hand a little more. The consultation, the rainy haunted ambience and the conversations with my fellow writers provided fertile soil for ideas to blossom and space to breathe.”
“This fellowship — and the uninterrupted writing time it afforded — was the difference between a piecemeal draft and a complete manuscript. Varuna is even more magical than everyone says it is.”
“Thank you to Writing NSW and Varuna Writers’ House for giving me the opportunity to write for a week in this beautiful house. I was so lucky, it left me feeling rejuvenated and like a real writer.
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UPCOMING COURSES, FELLOWSHIPS AND EVENTS
