Cove Park International Fellowship 2024
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A prestigious four-week international residency in Cove Park, Scotland open to Varuna alumni.
Applications have now closed
Residency dates: 30 September to 27 October 2024, which coincides with Wigtown Book Festival.
Places: One writer will be selected to go on exchange to Cove Park in Scotland.
Who should apply: Varuna alumni
Fees: There are no application fees or residency fees for this program. There is a $2,200 contribution towards airfares between Australia and Scotland, private accommodation on Cove Park’s 50-acre rural site on Scotland’s west coast, and a weekly allowance of 150 pounds per week towards food (this residency is self-catering).
FAQ: Please read the FAQ before you apply.
In 2024, this mutual exchange was altered slightly to take place over two years, with recipients travelling in alternating years - the selected Varuna alumni in 2024 and the Cove Park recipient in 2025.
In August/September 2024, Cove Park Fellowship recipient Brooke Robinson travelled to Cove Park, Scotland for her four-week residency and took part in the Wigtown Book Festival as part of the exchange. Varuna will welcome Sean Wei Keung in 2025 for his residency which includes being a part of the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival program.
The residency is generously supported by the Bridge Awards Foundation and Wigtown Book Festival.
The Fellow will be one of up to 12 national and international artists taking part in Cove Park’s wider programme, which welcomes those working in all art forms and at every career stage. The programme supports research and development of new work. Previous literature residents include Margaret Atwood, Caroline Brothers, Anne Carson, Rachel Cusk, Alasdair Gray, Roanna Gonsalves, Christos Tsiolkas and Yang Lian.
The fellowship includes:
a $2,200 contribution towards airfares between Australia and Scotland
private accommodation on Cove Park’s 50-acre rural site on Scotland’s west coast
a weekly allowance of 150 pounds per week towards food (this residency is self-catering)
HOW TO APPLY
Applications have now closed
Applicant requirements:
a short bio of your published works to date, as well as any awards and prizes received
a statement outlining how the residency would benefit you
an overview of the project you will be working on during your residency and a brief plan for its completion
a statement about your ability to to present your work as part of a writers’ festival
Selection criteria for this program include recency and critical reception of your published work to date, relevance of your work to the Wigtown Book Festival program, and how you may benefit from this residency. The theme for Wigtown Book Festival in 2024 is ‘new stories about climate change’, although the Festival Director is interested in any socially relevant themes or topics.
THE FINE PRINT
Open to Varuna alumni only.
It’s important that applicants realise that Cove Park is in a remote area of Western Scotland. The journey from Australia to Scotland is a minimum 25 hours flying time, and additional travel on public transport is required between Glasgow airport and Cove Park. The terrain of the grounds of Cove Park is steep, and internet and mobile signals may not be available. Please read more important details about the residency in Scotland before applying.
As part of the terms of their residency, successful applicants will also be required to submit a one-page report of their stay at Cove Park.
This project is a partnership between Varuna the National Writers’ House of Australia, and Cove Park in Scotland, and is supported by The Bridge Awards and Wigtown Book Festival.
