VARUNA RETREAT AND FLAGSHIP FELLOWSHIPS 2010
The year 2011 is Varuna’s 20th birthday. Each year since 1991 Varuna has offered at least 25 Fellowships for Writing Retreats. Over 20 years, Varuna has developed a unique environment encouraging sustained work, conversation and community among writers.
Fellowships awarded in 2010 will be awarded for the period January–April 2011. Fellowships available:
- Retreat Fellowships will be two weeks in duration.
- Flagship Fellowships will be three weeks. (Note, these fellowships are awarded to writers selected from applications for Retreat Fellowships.)
- There will be a new category of Fellowship –the Second Book Fellowship. These are fellowships for writers working on that difficult next book –usually the second; The four selected writers will work at Varuna April 18th to 27th, with an experienced editor-in-residence making up the fifth place.
Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats offer writers a residency in an environment wholly dedicated to writing, with accommodation and full board provided, to develop an established writing project or illustration project.
VARUNA FELLOWSHIPS FOR WRITING RETREATS 2010
Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats are open to writers resident in Australia.
Award: In 2010 Varuna will award 22 Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats, three Flagship Fellowships and four Second Book Fellowships.
Who should apply: Committed writers engaged on a major project are encouraged to apply for Varuna Fellowships. The Varuna environment is ideally suited to writers at all stages of writing practice and experience, and writers may be new, emerging, or established. Varuna Fellowships are offered in all genres of imaginative writing or illustrating, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, genre writing, writing and/or illustrating children's books, dramatic/screen writing, translation, essays or short fiction.
Important dates: Applications are accepted from 1 August 2010 and must be postmarked no later than 31 August 2010. Results will be available on the Varuna website by 1 October 2010.
Costs to applicant: $55 (including GST) per application. Fees cover administrative costs and help sustain this program. Successful applicants contribute $100 per week of Fellowship residency.
What Writers Say
“Varuna is home. A writing room with a door that locks, an energy that breathes light throughout the window filled house, presence of other writers, an awesome collection of books, local cafés and Echo Points walks are what nurtured the transition my writing went through during my stay. Having the time and space to sit, be and breathe with my novel has made a fundamental difference to the way I write and understand my process. Down to the slightest detail this place is setup and maintained by people who know what it means and feels like to write. Varuna will always be the place where I confronted the essence of my novel in and instead of running wrote with it.”
Angelina Mirabito, 2009
“It’s been life-altering. I’ve been able to truly centre the writing in my life. I think this is Varuna’s greatest gift. This isn’t just the distance Varuna provides from all the other parts of a writers’ life, the weight lifted from the mundane and the petty distractions. For me it’s been the walking in this special place, when I think and dream words; the tangible presence of Eleanor and her own preoccupations; and the fine, fine company of other writers. It’s also been very special for me to be able to share theexcitement of the Barbara Jefferis Award with you all.….I felt I had the generosity and spirit of two extraordinary women at my elbow, telling me to keep going.”
Kristina Olsson, 2009
For more information click on the following links.
Program Details (see section below)
Application Guidelines
Application Form (Parts A & B)
VARUNA FELLOWSHIPS FOR WRITING RETREATS 2010
PROGRAM DETAILS
AIM
To provide a dedicated writing environment enabling intensive work, conversation and community, for writers at all levels of experience and writing practice.
DESCRIPTION
Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats offer a writer a residency with independent writing time, accommodation and full board at Varuna, the Writers' House in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia.
The Creative Director Peter Bishop or a member of the Varuna Creative Team is available for an hour’s consultation with each resident. Each residency week there is at least one evening conversation, 4 pm–6 pm, about aspects of the writing process.
Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats are taken between January and April 17 2011. Second Book Fellowships are to be taken April 18th to 27th.
RETREAT FELLOWSHIPS are of TWO weeks duration and feature at least one conversation evening from 4.00–6.00pm each week, led by the Creative Director and/or a member of the Creative Team. The Creative Director or member of the Creative Team is available for a one-hour consultation with each resident.
FLAGSHIP FELLOWSHIPS are of THREE weeks duration. Flagship Fellowships cannot be applied for. They are offered to writers with projects of particular interest or value, and Varuna’s manner of assistance to the writer will vary in each case.
SECOND BOOK FELLOWSHIPS are a 10-day residency April 18th to 27th. There will be four writers selected, and the fifth resident will be an experienced editor.
WHO SHOULD APPLY?
Fellowships are offered to new, emerging or established writers working with commitment at a professional level.
Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats are offered in all genres of imaginative writing including fiction, narrative non-fiction, poetry, genre writing, writing and/or illustrating children's books, dramatic/screen writing, translation, essays or short fiction.
Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats are available to Australian citizens or permanent residents 18 years and over.
AWARD
In 2010 Varuna will award:
- 22 Retreat Fellowships of two weeks duration (to be taken between January and April 17 2011).
- 3 Flagship Fellowships of three weeks duration (to be taken between January and April 17 2011). The Flagship Fellowships are:
Eleanor Dark Fellowship - Fiction
Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer Eleanor Dark, this writing fellowship will be awarded to a fiction application of outstanding quality.
Eric Dark Fellowship - Non-fiction
Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer and social activist Eric Dark, this writing fellowship will be awarded for a non-fiction application of outstanding quality in social, historical or political writing.
Dorothy Hewett Fellowship - Poetry
Established in memory of Blue Mountains resident and poet, Dorothy Hewett, this fellowship will be awarded for a poetry application of outstanding quality.
Please note: The Mick Dark Watermark Fellowship for Emerging Nature and Environmental Writers has replaced the previous Mick Dark Writing Flagship Fellowship for Environmental Writing. For more information, click here.
- 4 SECOND BOOK FELLOWSHIPS of 10 days duration (April 18-27).
Successful applicants must contact Varuna as soon as possible after notification of their place to nominate their preferred dates, and by no later than 30 November 2010.
Retreat Fellowships run from Mondays (arriving from 1pm) to Mondays (vacating by 9:30am), except in the case of the Second Book Fellowships as they are 10 days long.
For more information on arrival and what to expect at the house, please refer to: The Writers' House.
SELECTION CRITERIA
- Varuna aims to achieve a balance of new, emerging and established writers from all states and territories, according to their merit.
- Applications are sought from new and emerging writers who can demonstrate the viability of their writing project.
- Applications are sought from established writers who can demonstrate achievement, professionalism and clear goals for using the Writing Retreat period.
- Writers cannot apply specifically for the Flagship Fellowships - rather, they are offered to individuals whose applications are a ‘striking and original voice in fiction, non-fiction or poetry. If no application of outstanding merit is received within a category, the selectors may choose not to award a Flagship Fellowship for that category.
- If you are eligible for a Second Book Fellowship please tick the box on the application form. You may be considered for a Second Book Fellowship or for any other fellowship.
- Applications for Fellowships for Writing Retreats are assessed strictly on the writing material submitted rather than on references.
SELECTION PROCESS
Selections for the Varuna Fellowships for Writing Retreats are made by a committee of four qualified selectors from the Varuna Alumni Association.
All decisions are final and no correspondence about the selection process or results will be entered into.Application Guidelines
Application Form (Part A & B)