Arts NT Fellowship Recipients Announced
Congratulations to the nine winners of the Arts NT & Varuna Fellowships - three of which will take place in-house at Varuna with six residencies undertaken online by way of virtual programming and mentorship.
Funding from Arts NT provides the three in-house writers with support for travel, accommodation and manuscript consultations, and all writers will receive mentoring and one-on-one consultations to develop and progress their new works.
The successful recipients of the in-house residency are:
Dani Powell with The Weight of Birds, a literary fiction that follows a boy, his mother, and the plight of birds, as they try to put the world back together again.
Kalem Murray with Frayed Threads, a fantasy novel taking place in the city of Deadmanning, where a young Aboriginal man caught up in the underworld must face his own demons while shedding light on the creatures from the dark.
Leah Ginnivan with Delicate Tropical Flower, an experimental work of narrative non-fiction/memoir exploring the landscape of grief, care, culture and the natural world.
The successful recipients of the virtual/online residency are:
Alex Eve with On Being Lotus and Crow, a memoir reflecting on the dark chaos of burnouts, breakdowns and alcoholic rock bottom, where a woman confronts her long-forgotten childhood and uncovers a truth that saves her.
Dave Clark with Equipped for Grief, a narrative non-fiction work looking for better ways to cope with grief by wrestling through the author’s sorrows after his dad dies of cancer.
Emma Trenorden with high fire danger, poems that respond to photos of the 2019/2020 Australian bush fires.
Kylie Stevenson with Confrontation, a historical novel about a journalist who stumbles upon information about her father's involvement in a top-secret war in Malaysia in the 1960s.
Leonie Norrington with A Piece of Red Cloth, a pre-colonial work of fiction set in Arnhem Land in the 1600s written at the request and under the supervision of the Yolngu story custodians.
Prasha Sooful with Life on this Planet, a young adult novel where a young girl must bring two worlds together before the past catches up with the present.
An exceptional total of 34 applications were received, showcasing a vibrant community of writers telling compelling stories in various genres, such as literary fiction, literary non-fiction, experimental writing, memoirs and poetry.
“The fellowships are a fantastic opportunity to bring out the Territory’s diverse and interesting voices and to offer emerging and established writers the opportunity to work alongside professional writers to develop their works and writing careers.
The growing number of applications is showing the importance of this program for the Territory in offering these fellowships in partnership with Varuna,” said the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, the Hon Chansey Paech MLA.
The Arts NT partnership with Varuna is a valuable addition to the support offered to the Territory writing community, as well as the professional development offered through the Northern Territory Writers’ Centre, which provides opportunities for Territorians and writers to participate on a national level.