Varuna Alumni, like Pip Williams, can purchase a personalised paver to support Varuna's new building

Buy a Personalised Paver at Varuna

Pave the way for new writing… 
Make your mark on Varuna… 
Build a new literary future, brick by brick… 

We may not be the best at crafting construction puns, but we are pretty good at running a writers’ residency, and we are thrilled to be taking Varuna to its next phase of life when we open our new building on-site in July this year. 

Varuna Alumni, like Chris Hammer, can purchase a personalised paver to support Varuna's new building
Varuna Alumni, like Vivian Pham, can purchase a personalised paver to support Varuna's new building
Varuna Alumni, like Melanie Saward, can purchase a personalised paver to support Varuna's new building
Varuna Alumni, like Anne-Marie Te Whiu, can purchase a personalised paver to support Varuna's new building

AN INVITATION TO OUR ALUMNI

Varuna alumni are invited to purchase an engraved paver, to be laid along the paths and gardens around the site. We want outdoor spaces that are not just lush with greenery, but also celebrate the thousands of brilliant authors who’ve crafted story and shaped our collective culture in the ‘big yellow house’. 

Whether you were here last week or were one of the first residents in 1991, we want to celebrate your place in Varuna’s history. 

ABOUT THE VARUNA READING ROOM

The Varuna Reading Room is a new architecturally designed workshop and event space that will allow us to bring readers and writers together for professional development, author talks, literary salons and industry events. The building also has new office space for our team, a welcome addition as things are getting pretty cramped in the shed. 

HOW TO PURCHASE A PAVER

Varuna alumni can have their name engraved on a paver for $250.  These pavers will then be laid along path edges and garden beds on the site.

Profits from the pavers will go towards the new building’s fit-out and landscaping, ensuring the new building is as beautiful and welcoming as the house.  So far, we’ve raised just over $1 million in grants and donations, but we still need to raise another $75,000 to cover our costs.

If you are a member of our alumni able to ‘pay it forward’ and donate extra towards pavers for low-income writers, please do.

If you are eager to purchase an engraved paver but the price is beyond your means, please get in touch and we’ll see what we can do! It’s also possible to pay by instalment.

Note: The first $50 of a paver purchase goes towards the cost of the paver itself; the rest counts as a tax-deductible donation for which you’ll receive a receipt.

Buy A Paver