Pitch Me! FAQ

ELIGIBILITY, COSTS & KEY INFO

When am I able to undertake my residency?
Your residency will need to be taken between January and August 2026, subject to availability in the house.

What are the eligibility requirements for this fellowship?
Pitch Me! is open to Varuna-selected Fellowship recipients or Masterclass participants who were offered or completed their fellowship between 1/1/23 and 31/12/25 (i.e. you received the offer of a fellowship by email between these dates). Work must be unpublished and uncontracted to an agent or publisher.

Eligible programs will be listed when we open the call-out for applications, and writers who are eligible will be emailed and invited to apply.

I am an Australian citizen living overseas. May I apply?
Yes, but we do not cover international travel costs to attend a residency.

I live in Australia but I am not a citizen or permanent resident. May I apply?
For our fellowship programs, exemption may be given to permanent residency criteria, but only in the circumstances of recently arrived migrants/refugees. Our Online Masterclasses, however, are open to all. 

What is the application fee for this program?
There is no application fee for this program.

Do I have to pay anything to stay at Varuna?
No, you do not have to pay anything to stay at Varuna. You will receive a $2,000 development payment, and you will need to cover your own travel costs to get to and from Varuna. If you have a Healthcare card or are experiencing financial hardship, you can apply to the Varuna Equity Fund for a $350 travel reimbursement.

Do you provide any support for travel costs?
If you have a Healthcare card or are experiencing financial hardship, you may apply to the Varuna Equity Fund for a subsidy of up to $350. State and Territory funding bodies are often willing to provide a contribution for travel expenses to support professional development opportunities.

Will I receive any payment in the form of stipends or per diems?
You will receive a $2,000 development payment. This payment can be used for editorial or mentoring advice, or for helping find time and space to concentrate on writing.

I have missed the deadline. May I submit a late application?
No. Unfortunately no applications will be accepted after the deadline date.

How and when will I be notified of the outcome of my submission?
You will be notified of the outcome of your submission by email within two months of the submission deadline. 

I have previously been awarded this fellowship. May I apply again?
If you have received a Pitch Me Fellowship in the last three years you may not apply again, however if you have been awarded a fellowship through one of our other programs in that time, for example a First Nations Fellowship or a Writer's Space Fellowship, you may apply. 

May I apply for multiple fellowships in the same year?
Yes. For example, our Varuna Residential fellowship program may be open at the same time as the Scribe fellowship, and you would be welcome to apply for both.

YOUR APPLICATION

Am I able to submit more than one application?
No. We ask that you only submit one application for this program. 

Can submit a manuscript that is under contract with a publisher?
If you have made a submission within the last three months, then you are not eligible to apply. If you have made a submission to a publisher more than three months ago, and have not heard back, then we simply ask that you share this information with us on your application.

Can I submit a project if I am working on it collaboratively with another writer?
If your writing is genuinely a joint work, please contact maeve@varuna.com.au to explain your specific requirements. We will try to accommodate you if we possibly can. 

If selected, does this fellowship guarantee a publishing contract?
No. Although you could be offered a contract, there is no obligation for Left Bank Literary or UQP to do so. However, they do commit to providing feedback regarding your manuscript, and advice as to how to further develop your work for publication.

If selected, can my manuscript be offered to agents and publishers?
UQP maintains first right of acceptance to publish your manuscript until they have had the opportunity to read and respond to a draft of the completed manuscript that includes any rework agreed during the residency.

Will I receive feedback on my application?
You will be informed via email whether your application for a Fellowship has been successful via email. Unfortunately, we are not able to discuss the selection process or offer individual feedback to unsuccessful applicants - Varuna receives a high volume of applications and we simply do not have the staff time available to provide individual feedback. 

May I apply with same manuscript I submitted last year?
While there is no limit to how often you may apply for a fellowship or how many different fellowships you may apply for, we request that you do not resubmit a work that you have already submitted to the same program in a previous year unless there has been substantial reworking/revision.

May I apply without a complete manuscript?
Yes.

How should I format my writing excerpt?
You will need to save your submission as a single PDF document. Please use the name of your project as the PDF submission name, ensuring the name of the file is 25 characters or less. To convert a Word file to a PDF, go to the File menu in Microsoft Word, select PDF as your file format, then select ‘Save As’.

Please note the following when formatting your work:

General: Submitted work should be predominantly in English

Fonts: Ideally, your work should be in Times New Roman (font size 12).

Spacing: For long-form work (i.e. fiction or essays), it is helpful if you can use double-spacing and include margins of 1 cm on both left and right. However, when work is double-spaced, it can be hard discerning where one paragraph ends and another begins. For this reason, please indent the first line of each new paragraph (you can set up a style in Word to do this automatically).

Headers: Include an identifying title and the page number on the top-right-hand corner of each page.

Plays can be formatted according to the Australian Plays Transform submission guidelines.

Screenplays can be formatted according to Australian Writers’ Centre recommendations.

What is the word limit for my writing excerpt?
The writing sample should comprise of your first three chapters, up to 10,000 words. If your first chapters are quite short, you may submit more than three chapters, but please note that a total of 10,000 words is the limit.

You must also add a synopsis of your completed manuscript.

May I submit multiple samples to show a portfolio of work?
This is a tricky one, we understand why you would want to do this! However, for the sake of our assessors we do ask that you keep it simple and include one sample of work per application.

Can I provide end notes?
Yes.

ACCESSIBILITY

Is Varuna wheelchair accessible?
Varuna has one wheelchair-accessible studio, The Jerra Studio. While the main Varuna house isn’t wheelchair accessible, we have a portable ramp we put in place whenever wheelchair-users come for a residency. We encourage writers with disability to email maeve@varuna.com.au to discuss specific access requirements which may be needed during a residency. More information can be found on our accessibility page of our website www.varuna.com.au/accessiblity.   

How will my access needs be met?
Varuna has funds set aside to support the access needs of residents, which may include travel for a support worker, Auslan interpreters for a mentoring session, or meeting specific dietary requirements. As each individual resident is different, we ask that you get in touch to discuss your needs either before you apply, or after finding out you have been successful. We can then work together on a plan for how costs can be covered through a combination of NDIS supports and Varuna funding. 

Can I bring a support worker to Varuna, and who covers their costs?
If you notify us in advance of your residency that you would like a support worker to stay with you, we can make arrangements for them to either stay in a nearby holiday house or on-site if space is available. If you receive NDIS funding, we can provide any information required to ensure your NDIS support can be used to assist your stay.

If you have further questions, please contact us at varuna@varuna.com.au or call us on (02) 4782 5674