2024 FNAWN Varuna Fellowship recipients
First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN) and Varuna the National Writers’ House are delighted to announce the six recipients of the inaugural FNAWN Varuna Fellowship, which was open to FNAWN writers, poets, storytellers who have a manuscript in fiction, poetry, or creative nonfiction. The partnership was formed in support of emerging or established writers of FNAWN who display exceptional promise in their writing style and the premise of the work.
Executive Chairperson of FNAWN, Yvette Henry Holt, said “We received an incredible selection of writing in the first year of this collaborative partnership, which buoys FNAWN’s commitment to sustain and enhance First Nations Australia writing and storytelling. FNAWN are greatly appreciative of the time and commitment Varuna have offered to achieve this outcome.”
Selected participants will each receive an all-expenses paid, fully catered residency at Varuna in the Blue Mountains. Guest speakers and mentors will include Yvette Henry Holt, Charmaine Ledden-Lewis and Peter Minter.
The six successful recipients of the 2024 fellowship are:
Lystra Bisschop (Elanora, QLD) for The Upwarping, a YA novel that re-imagines alternate realities and the future of First Peoples through the perspective of three First Nations protagonists.
Michelle Hyde (Narrabundah, ACT) for Fierce: Guwaa-li warranggal gii, a collection of poems that moves from the silence imposed by dislocation and violence to the courage of finding a strong heart and speaking truth.
Cheryl Leavy (Coorparoo, QLD) for Mudunja - Song Country, poetry which explores blak politics, blak queer identity and blak cultural identity, and their intersections.
Lay Maloney (Preston, VIC) for Chthonic, a speculative work of fantasy following an Aboriginal young person into the rainforests of Far North Queensland where a society of fairies have been protecting themselves from colonisation.
Marissa McDowell (Canberra, ACT) for Kianpraty, a screenplay that centres around the importance of storytelling, Indigenous culture and history of Lake George, Weereewa.
Nardi Simpson (Sydney, NSW) for The Bellburd, a work of literary fiction told in three parts of the before- and after-life of a five-month-old Indigenous baby girl.
“As the peak body for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers, poets and storytellers, FNAWN offers valuable pathways for sustaining and enhance First Nations Australia writing and storytelling” said Veechi Stuart, Executive Director of Varuna the National Writers’ House. “We are honoured to be able to partner with FNAWN to offer this opportunity to First Nations writers.”
FNAWN