We are thrilled to once again team up with Varuna, the National Writers’ House, to offer two new writing residency and development fellowships for South Australian writers working in any genre or form.

The fellowships provide time, writing space, and consultation to work on your writing in a dedicated writers’ retreat in the beautiful Country of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples in the Blue Mountains!

The SA First Nations Writers Fellowship and the SA Emerging Writers Fellowship (formerly the Young Writers Fellowship) are open for applications.

The SA First Nations Writers Fellowship is open to all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander writers who are current Writers SA members, and living in South Australia. Applications will be judged by a panel of Writers SA staff and First Nations authors.

The SA Emerging Writers Fellowship is open to all writers living in South Australia who are current Writers SA members, who have yet to publish more than two full-length manuscripts or collections. Applications will be judged by a panel of Writers SA staff, board and a South Australian Varuna alumnus.

Each residency is one week (seven nights) of mostly self-directed quiet time, and includes:

• a travel subsidy of $300
• a one-hour manuscript consultation with a professional writing mentor
• full board and accommodation, with a prepared evening meal, uninterrupted time to write in your own private studio, and the companionship of your fellow writers.

To apply for the residencies you must be a Writers SA member. To learn more about joining, please click here.

How to apply

Applications will open Monday August 1st, and must be submitted via this link and close 11:59pm Monday September 5th 2022. The successful recipients will be notified in October 2022.

These week-long residencies will take place between January and August 2023 at a mutually beneficial time to be decided between Varuna and the recipient. If the recipient/s require an accessible space, these dates will be offered by Varuna subject to availability. There is no application fee, and no program fees apply. The two recipients will receive a $300 travel subsidy towards their travel expenses.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be considered according to:

• the impact of the opportunity on the writer,
• the ambition and potential of the project, and
• the quality of the support material.

To apply:

Please submit the following materials via this link – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P3375H7:

• your contact details
• the fellowship for which you wish to be considered (SA Emerging Writers Fellowship and/or SA First Nations Writers Fellowship)
• a brief bio (max. 150 words)
• a statement addressing how the opportunity will benefit you (max. 250 words)
  a synopsis of your proposed project to be undertaken at Varuna (max. 1 page PDF or Word doc), and
• artistic support material (writing, illustrations, etc; max. 5 pages including links in a PDF or Word doc).

Terms and conditions


By entering this application process, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

1. You must be a writer with a work in progress,
2. You must be a South Australian resident for at least 12 months,
3. You must be a current Writers SA member,
4. You must be able to take up the residency between January and August 2023, and if circumstances beyond your control prevent you from attending, you must notify Writers SA of this immediately so another applicant can be offered the fellowship,
5. The final recipient will be chosen at the discretion of Writers SA and Varuna. The decision will be final and no discussion will be entered into with applicants or other Writers SA members. Stay dates are to be negotiated with Varuna staff.

Guest post: 2021 Fellowship recipient Lara Saunders

Want a glimpse of what to expect from the fellowships?

Earlier this year, Lara Saunders undertook the Writers SA Varuna Emerging Writers Fellowship, spending seven days at Varuna the National Writers’ House—check out Lara’s guest blog post here.