Flagship Fellowships
Flagship Fellowships are awarded to exceptional applications, and offer a two- or three-week residency, along with a travel subsidy for writers living more than 300 km away from Varuna of $350.
Flagship Fellowships are awarded by the Peer Selection panel as part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships assessment process and do not need a separate application.
Eleanor Dark Fellowship – Fiction - Three Weeks
Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer Eleanor Dark, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded to a fiction application of outstanding quality.
Eric Dark Fellowship - Non-fiction - Three Weeks
Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer and social activist Eric Dark, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded for a non-fiction application of outstanding quality in social, historical or political writing.
First Nations Fellowship - Three Weeks
This three-week fellowship will be awarded to a First Nations writer whose work is of outstanding quality.
Varuna Poetry Fellowship - Three Weeks
This three-week fellowship will be awarded for a poetry application of outstanding quality.
Mick Dark Fellowship - Three Weeks
Established in memory of Mick Dark, who bequeathed Varuna House to the writers of Australia, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded to outstanding Environmental Writing.
Jerra Studio Fellowship - Two Weeks
This two-week fellowship will be awarded to an aspiring or emerging writer with disability whose work is of outstanding quality. This fellowship is generously supported by one of Varuna’s alumni, and there are no fee contributions required for this fellowship.
Carer’s Fellowship - Two Weeks
Each year, a fully funded two-week fellowship and $350 travel subsidy is awarded to a writer who is a parent or carer who faces barriers to finding time and space to write due to financial pressures. This Fellowship is generously supported by Sophie Torney, a member of our alumni association.
THE FOWLER TRUST Fellowships - Two Weeks
Generously supported by the Fowler Trust, this program supports four two-week fellowships for genre fiction writers, including women’s fiction, crime, fantasy, historical fiction, speculative fiction and YA. The recipient will be asked to acknowledge The Fowler Trust in any published work associated with time spent at Varuna.
Henry Handel Richardson Fellowship - Short Story Writing - Two Weeks
Offered in partnership with the Henry Handel Richardson Society, this two-week fellowship promotes the life and legacy of Henry Handel Richardson as a significant Australian author and encourages excellence in Australian short story writing. This award includes full travel reimbursement and is offered every second year. Applications will next be invited in 2024 for writers coming to Varuna in 2025.
Ray Koppe/ASA Young Writer’s Fellowship - Two Weeks
Offered in partnership with the Australian Society of Authors, this two-week flagship fellowship is offered to a writer under the age of 35 who is as yet unpublished. The fellowship includes a one-hour consultation and a year’s membership to the Australian Society of Authors. In addition, there is a full travel subsidy for writers living outside of NSW.
The residency has been established by the Koppe family as a tribute to their mother, Ray Koppe. Ray, who for many years managed the business affairs of the ASA, was always passionately interested in, and supportive of, young writers.
The recipient will be asked to acknowledge The Ray Koppe Young Writers’ Residency in any published work associated with time spent at Varuna.
Past winners include Aaliyah Sugitha (2023), Sarah Stivens (2022), Laurie Steed (2021), Hayley Scrivenor (2020), Holden Sheppard (2017), Nick Couldwell (2016), Chloe Higgins (2015), Danielle Binks (2014), Hannah Bent (2013), Dimitra Harvey (2012) and Renae Gibson (2011).