Applications close 15 May 2026

The UQP Varuna Fellowship is offering editorial support for an unpublished writer of a manuscript, as part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships.

Applications now closed

Commit to your writing and make 2026 the year you finish your memoir. In this in-depth online masterclass, award-winning author Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers over 9-months, with structured exercises, readings and feedback designed to help you finish a draft of your memoir. 

Applications now closed

Expand and nurture your practice as a poet in this 4-month program. We’ll create an encouraging and inspiring community, and support the development of original work, from single poems to sequences, and explore how to build a collection for publication.

Applications closed for 2026

Six online fellowships will be offered to writers with disability and/or who are D/deaf, providing mentorship, professional development, and the opportunity for peer feedback.

Applications closed for 2026

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 now closed

Varuna alumni are eligible to apply for a four-week residency at Cove Park, Scotland, with the opportunity to present at Wigtown Book Festival.

Applications now closed

The Ann Moyal Non-Fiction Fellowship encourages excellence in non-fiction writing and supports writers developing an original work drawn from the broad fields of the humanities and social sciences. Three writers will be selected for a three-week residency, 28 Sept - 19 Oct 2026.

Applications now closed

For over 20 years, Conor Kostick has been teaching his popular 10-week Finish Your Novel course at the Irish Writers Centre and Varuna are delighted to offer it in Australia and New Zealand.

Applications are now closed

Six two-week residential fellowships will be offered to writers with disability and/or who are D/deaf.

Applications now closed for 2026

In partnership with Red Room Poetry, this fellowship for six poets includes a residency at Varuna, one-on-one mentorship, and a poetic commission as part of the national Poetry Month in August 2026.

Applications now closed

Writers focused on climate change and the environment are invited to apply for a week-long residency, with the opportunity to network and connect with others working across literature, academia, journalism, grassroots organising and activism.

Applications now closed

This 10-week course is designed to help you strengthen the fundamentals that aspiring authors often overlook, hone your approach to revising stories for submission, and work towards writing your own knockout short-story collection.

Applications now closed

In this 8-week online workshop series Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers with the aim of learning to write about sensuality and sexuality with ease.

Applications closed for 2026

Emerging Trans and Gender Diverse writers are invited to apply for a week-long residency at Varuna, 3 - 10 August 2026, benefiting from one-on-one mentorship and and group reading sessions, supported by community.

Applications now closed

This 6-week course with Jack Heath is designed to help you refine the elements of crime and thriller writing and finish your novel, with discussions of key writing techniques and feedback on your work.

Applications now closed

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 now closed

The WestWords Varuna Fellowship offers four emerging writers from diverse backgrounds from Western Sydney the opportunity of a week-long residency, supported throughout the week by mentors.

Applications now closed

First Nations writers are invited to apply for the opportunity to connect with Adivasi writers from India, first in residence at Varuna, then at a four-week residency at Sangam House in Bangalore.

Applications opening soon

The Affirm Press Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for writers to develop new work through a Varuna residency and editorial feedback.

Applications now closed

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers are invited to apply for a week-long writers residency at Varuna in 2026, connecting with other First Nations writers, and benefiting from mentorship, and the sharing of skills and knowledge.