For Writers

Applications close 14 May

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 close 6 May

Varuna’s most prestigious award, running since 1991. Up to 38 fellowships will be awarded to emerging and established writers across Australia, offering between two and four weeks in residence, with mentorship.

Applications close 6 May

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

Applications close 6 May

Established in memory of Blue Mountains writer and social activist Eric Dark, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded for a non-fiction application of outstanding quality in social, historical or political writing.

Applications close 6 May

Established in memory of Mick Dark, who bequeathed Varuna House to the writers of Australia, this three-week writing fellowship will be awarded to outstanding Environmental Writing.

Applications close 6 May

As part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships, a two-week fellowship with travel costs covered and a $600 stipend is awarded to a writer of outstanding talent who is experiencing financial hardship. This Fellowship is made possible in 2025 by a member of our alumni association.

Applications close 6 May

This three-week fellowship will be awarded to a First Nations writer who applies for a Varuna Residential Fellowship and whose work is of outstanding quality.

Applications close 6 May

This program is presented in partnership with the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing (RCALC) and is part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships. Open to emerging or established writers, living in regional and remote parts of Australia.

Applications close 6 May

This three-week fellowship will be awarded for a Varuna Residential Fellowships poetry application of outstanding quality.

Applications close 6 May 2025

Offered in partnership with the Australian Society of Authors, and generously supported by the Ray Koppe bequest, this is one of the Varuna flagship fellowships and is offered to a writer under the age of 35 who is as yet unpublished.

Applications close 6 May

Generously supported by the Fowler Trust, this program supports four two-week fellowships for fiction writers, including women’s fiction, crime, fantasy, historical fiction, speculative fiction and YA.

Applications close 6 May

This two-week fellowship will be awarded for a Varuna Residential Fellowships application of outstanding quality, by a writer with disability.

Applications close 6 May

Each year, a two-week fellowship is awarded to a writer who is a parent or carer who faces barriers to finding time and space to write due to caring responsibilities. This Fellowship is generously supported by Sophie Torney, a member of our alumni association.

Applications close 6 May

This two-week fellowship will be awarded to a writer who is currently living in the Blue Mountains LGA. This fellowship is generously supported by David Hammon, who was previously chair of Varuna’s Board.

Applications close 4 June 2025

A deep-dive writer development program designed for writers with a manuscript substantially underway, or with a draft completed, this 5-month masterclass provides a unique opportunity to receive feedback on your manuscript and the guidance and support to take it to the next level.

Applications close 9 June

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 close 18 June

This eight-session masterclass for writers in any genre will develop your skills in positioning yourself as an observer, and bringing nuance and humour to the story you would most like to tell.

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 open 2 May 2025

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 May 2025

In this 8-week online workshop series Kris Kneen will lead a small group of writers with the aim of learning to write about sensuality and sexuality with ease.

Applications open June 2025

This 10-week course is designed to help you strengthen the fundamentals that aspiring authors often overlook, hone your approach to revising stories for submission, and work towards writing your own knockout short-story collection.

Applications open May 2025

This 6-week course with Jack Heath is designed to help you refine the elements of crime and thriller writing and finish your novel, with discussions of key writing techniques and feedback on your work.

Applications open June 2025

Designed for writers of all levels, genres and narrative art forms, this 12-session masterclass with BAFTA award-winning screenwriter and author Anthony Mullins will show you how to craft an authentic and powerful narrative structure.

Applications open July 2025

Scenes are the building blocks of novels, plays, screenplays, short stories, and even works of creative non-fiction. This 8-week program with Brooke Robinson will sharpen your writing to create truly powerful scenes.

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.