Applications will open soon

Held in collaboration with the Irish Writers Centre, this online fellowship connects writers from Ireland and Australia, with mentorship, networking and peer feedback.

Applications close 3 March 2025

The Ann Moyal Non-Fiction Fellowship encourages excellence in non-fiction writing and supports writers developing an original work drawn from the broad fields of the humanities and social sciences. Three writers will be selected for a three-week residency, 29 Sept - 20 Oct 2025.

Applications close 17 February 2025

Trans and Gender Diverse writers are invited to apply for a week-long residency at Varuna, 4 - 11 August 2025, benefiting from one-on-one mentorship and and group reading sessions, supported by community.

Applications close 28 January 2025.

Commit to your writing and make 2025 the year you finish your memoir. In this in-depth online masterclass, award-winning author Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers over 9-months, with structured exercises, readings and feedback designed to help you finish a draft of your memoir. 

Applications close Tuesday 4 February 2025

In partnership with Red Room Poetry, this fellowship for six poets includes a residency at Varuna, one-on-one mentorship, and a poetic commission as part of the national Poetry Month in August 2025.

Applications close 11 February 2025

Expand and nurture your practice as a poet in this 4-month program. We’ll create an encouraging and inspiring community, and support the development of original work, from single poems to sequences, and explore how to build a collection for publication.

Self-paced online course

Bring the Varuna magic to you with this nine-part online, self-paced course on point of view with Jane Messer. Explore this important element of writing craft, analysing sample readings from well-known authors and being prompted with a series of exercises.

Online self-paced course

Bring the Varuna magic to you with this eight-part online, self-paced course on writing for wellbeing. This revitalising program enables you to explore writing as a practice for your own wellbeing, including techniques for getting started (or re-started!).

Save the Date

The Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival returns 31 October - 2 November 2025.

Applications will open soon

Writers focused on climate change and the environment are invited to apply for a week-long residency, with the opportunity to network and connect with others working across literature, academia, journalism, grassroots organising and activism.

Applications will open soon

First Nations writers are invited to apply for one of twelve week-long fellowships at Varuna in 2025, sharing the residency with other First Nations writers, and benefiting from one-on-one mentorship and the sharing of skills and knowledge.

Applications open February 2025

This six-session intensive masterclass – held across three months for writers at all stages of their careers – offers the opportunity to get started on a new writing project or breathe life into a project you have abandoned or are struggling with.

Applications will open soon

Six online fellowships will be offered to writers with disability and/or who are D/deaf, providing mentorship, professional development, and the opportunity for peer feedback.

Applications are now closed

The WestWords Varuna Fellowship offers four emerging writers from diverse backgrounds from Western Sydney the opportunity of a week-long residency, supported throughout the week by mentors.

Applications open now

This 8-week online program drills down deeply into how to craft dialogue on the page, ensuring that each of your character’s voices is unique, shaping their distinct speech patterns, and working on questions about who speaks, and when.

Applications open March 2025

For over 20 years, Conor Kostick has been teaching his popular 10-week Finish Your Novel course at the Irish Writers Centre and Varuna are delighted to offer it in Australia and New Zealand.

Applications are now closed

Varuna alumni are eligible to apply for a four-week residency at Cove Park, Scotland, with the opportunity to present at Wigtown Book Festival.

Applications are now closed

Varuna is delighted to offer this four-week international residency to Varuna alumni, held in collaboration with the Michael King Writers Centre in New Zealand and the Verb Readers and Writers Festival in Wellington.

Applications open March 2025

Varuna’s most prestigious award, running since 1991. Up to 45 fellowships will be awarded to emerging and established writers across Australia, offering between two and four weeks in residence, with mentorship.

Applications open March 2025

Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer Eleanor Dark, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded to a fiction application of outstanding quality.