The Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship is awarded annually to a writer with a work of fiction, creative non-fiction, a play, or a suite of poems that is ready for the next stage of development. Applicants must be Writing NSW members and be willing to commit to developing their work.

The fellowship includes a week’s residency at Varuna, the National Writers’ House in Katoomba, 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. 

The 2023 Writing NSW Varuna Fellowship will open for applications on 29 July 2024.

Previous recipients include Lucy Nelson, Hajer Al-awsi, Cleo Mees, Jordan Shea, Kylie Boltin, Eleanor Kirk, Kaya Wilson, Winnie Dunn, Tanya Vavilova, Karina Young, Adele Dumont, Christopher McDonald, Irma Gold, Alex Chalwell, Mark Brandi, Jacqui Dent, Helen Thurloe, Lucie Stevens, Alison Thompson and Greg Woodland.

‘This fellowship — and the uninterrupted writing time it afforded — was the difference between a piecemeal draft and a complete manuscript. Varuna is even more magical than everyone says it is.’ —2022 Fellow Lucy Nelson

‘Thank you to Writing NSW and Varuna Writers’ House for giving me the opportunity to write for a week in this beautiful house. I was so lucky, it left me feeling rejuvenated and like a real writer.’ —2022 Fellow Hajer Al-awsi

View the winner of the 2023 Varuna Fellowship here.

Want to learn more about the fellowship? Read Mark Brandi‘s five favourite things about his time at Varuna here. Adele Dumont gives us a sneak-peek at her journal entries during her residency here, and Kaya Wilson walks us through his residency week here.