Self-Paced Courses

Bring the Varuna magic to you.

Do you sometimes struggle to prioritise your writing practice? Perhaps you’ve hit a block and you’re unsure how to progress your work with the tools you have, or maybe you’d simply like to learn some new techniques to take your writing to the next level.

Varuna, the National Writers’ House, is proud to be treasured by the writers of Australia. Varuna exists to empower literary imagination at every stage of your writing career, to provide a catalyst for artistic excellence and to share the transformative power of the written word. Our mentors and instructors support emerging and established Australian writers alike. We’ve been helping people find the time and space to write for decades.

Why a self-paced course?

Wherever you are in your writing journey, it is important to stay connected and inspired by other writers.

At Varuna, we want to support you to prioritise your writing. We have created this range of online writing courses to give you the flexibility to find the time to write, at your own pace and at a time that suits you, to develop your skills with the guidance of fellow writers.

This range of courses is open to everyone and is priced to be accessible. If you’re in a position to pay it forward, we have also provided a ‘supporter’ price point that allows you to contribute towards another writer accessing a course.

How does it work?

These courses are the perfect way to carve out your time and space to write.

Each course gives you the opportunity to learn more about an element of writing craft, entirely at your own pace. Presenters will take a seat in front of the fireplace at the Varuna house to explore topics over eight easy-to-digest videos.

At the end of each topic will be suggested reading as well as a writing activity. These can be completed whenever and wherever you find your time – on your daily commute, at the bedside of a child settling into sleep, or a peaceful hour of the weekend wedged between the demands of daily life.

When you’ve completed the activities, if you’d like to take the process a step further, we’re giving you the opportunity to connect with the host of your course. At any time within six months of enrolling for the course, you can choose to submit up to 750 words of your work and book a 30-minute session to receive verbal feedback on your work. There is an additional fee payable of $110 for this optional feedback session.

Choose your course

Ready to Write?

As a writing community, we empower one another to get inspired and stay connected. With this in mind, we have a range of price points for our self-paced courses available.

The regular fee for each course is $125.

If you are currently not earning a wage, you can access the course for a fee of $95.

If you would like to pay it forward and generously help another writer access this course for free, you can pay a 'supporter' rate of $155.

Frequently Asked Questions

After purchasing, how long do I have access to complete my course?

You will have access to this course for 12 months.

What is the window to book a consultation with the presenter?

If you would like to book a consultation, please submit a booking within six months of your enrolment.

Do I need any special programs or technology to access this course?

You simply need a device that you can play video from within your web browser, and a word processing program (such as MS Word or Google Docs) to complete the writing tasks. Resources are also included as a pdf, which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat.

I have a formatting request that would make this course more accessible for me. Are you able to accommodate these requirements?

Please get in touch with us at varuna@varuna.com.au and we will do our best to implement any modifications.