Varuna and Writing NSW are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2026 Varuna Fellowship is Miranda Michalowski for her work, Bad Art.
Miranda was selected from more than 80 entries, all judged blind, and has been awarded a week-long residential fellowship at Varuna to spend time on her work.
The Writing NSW judges said: “Bad Art stood out for its distinctive voice and compelling characters.” They added, “A very worthy winner. Bad Art brilliantly depicts the obsessions and insecurities of being young and creative.”
Miranda commented on her win, “I’m absolutely delighted to be named as the winner of the Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship. This time at Varuna will give me the perfect opportunity to continue developing my debut novel, enriching the characters and the world. I’m looking forward to spending time in such a beautiful place and expanding my writing community.”
The judges also awarded runners-up prizes to Annette Chennell for her memoir The Social Tundra, and Hilary Bell for her play Tricky. Both runners-up will receive a complimentary one-year Writing NSW membership.
The judges this year were writer, journalist and playwright Saman Shad, literary agent Justin Ractliffe, and Writing NSW Operations Manager Andrew Glassop.
The judges commented on the process: “It’s easy to say it was a difficult decision, but here it truly was.” They also offered encouragement to all who entered: “Your voice matters, and there are more ways than one to get your work out into the world.”
Awarded annually, the Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship is for members of Writing NSW who have a work that is ready for the next stage of development.
Miranda Michalowski is an award-winning writer for page, stage and screen, who lives on unceded Wangal land. She writes queer stories, and ones about messy women, often with an edge of dark comedy. She was recently awarded the Young Writer scholarship for Year of the Novel with Writing NSW, where she is working on her debut novel, alongside completing her MFA in Dramatic Writing at NIDA.