Roderick Centre Residential Fellowship for Regional and Remote Writers
Presented in partnership with Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing (RCALC), three fellowships are available to writers living in regional and remote parts of Australia.
Applications will open in March 2025
Residency dates: The fellowship can be taken between January - August 2026.
Places: Three writers will be selected as part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships program.
Who should apply: Writers living in regional and remote parts of Australia (government designated ‘Category 3 Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas’). For a list of cities and towns excluded from eligibility, please visit our FAQ.
FAQs: Please read the FAQs before you apply.
This is the only national literary program in Australia specifically for regional and remote writers. Participants will be selected from across Australia, with at least one fellowship place to be reserved for a First Nations writer, and at least two fellowships to be reserved for writers from regional Queensland.
Newly established in 2024 thanks to a generous bequest from the late Colin and Margaret Roderick, the Centre aims to foster the reading and writing of Australian literature in all its forms, and to encourage the study of Australian literature and literary cultures.
This is a flagship fellowship as part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships.
Each of the three recipients will receive:
A two-week residency at Varuna, with full board and accommodation including a prepared evening meal
Uninterrupted time to write in your own private studio, and the companionship of your fellow writers.
Reimbursement of all travel expenses from anywhere in Australia, including airfares and transfers.
$600 towards other expenses. Each writer will be able to use this expenses budget to fit their individual needs.
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR
We are looking for emerging or established writers, living in regional and remote parts of Australia, who are developing new work in creative writing. This could include literary fiction, genre fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, young adult fiction, junior fiction, poetry, or writing for screen, theatre or radio.
Assessors will be looking at the level of achievement (works completed, published or produced, awards won), clarity of work focus and creative objectives (how you will use your time), professional benefits to the recipient (how this Fellowship and your current project will benefit your professional development), and the merit of your writing or creative work.
For more information about staying at Varuna, visit our Residencies page.
TESTIMONIALS
“The Roderick Fellowship has been an extraordinary opportunity for me to further develop my screenplay, in the supportive and beautiful environment of Varuna. I had uninterrupted time to write, an invaluable mentoring session, and the wonderful fellow writers in residence made it creatively nourishing and productive in the best possible way.”
“The high standards at Varuna House uphold the best qualities for a writer on an international scale. The residence, as a sanctuary, is conducive to offering a writer the gift of time and silence. All measures of the house seemed designed and articulated around this clear intention toward nurturing creative output. The energy of this place is magic. There is no other word for this experience. To be in the company of other writers was an absolute delight. Coming from rural and remote North Queensland, where I live a relatively reclusive existence—especially in terms of kinship with other writers—the opportunity to be present and share with other writers is priceless. Being selected as a Roderick Fellow for the Varuna House will stay with me as a warm and wondrous experience all my life.”
HOW TO APPLY
The Roderick Centre Residential Fellowship is awarded to three writers living in a regional or remote area (government designated ‘Category 3 Regional Centres and Other Regional Areas’) who apply for a Varuna Residential Fellowship. There is no separate application process.
Please refer to Varuna’s general submission guidelines for any questions on formatting your work.
UPCOMING COURSES, FELLOWSHIPS AND EVENTS:
