SA Literary Fellowships 2025

Former Writers SA CEO Jessica Alice and Director of the State Library of South Australia Geoff Strempel with the 2024 recipients

About

We are thrilled to announce applications are open for the second year of our fellowship program for South Australian writers!

Writers SA and State Library of South Australia have partnered to offer the SA Literary Fellowships program to support emerging, established, and First Nations writers.

With investment from Creative Australia, Arts South Australia and the Libraries Board of South Australia, this program will offer five annual creative writing fellowships with a cash component, desk space, and access to the Library’s collections. It is open to all writers living in South Australia to encourage the original and imaginative use of the Library’s spaces and collections to develop new literary works.

The program was developed in direct response to the needs of the local literary sector, addressing a gap in South Australia’s current fellowship and prize opportunities. Through the awarding of Fellowships and the presentation of a series of public events, this program aims to grow audiences of readers, promotes libraries and literature, and furthers the development of South Australian authors.

Applications open July 17 and close August 11, 2024. The recipients will be announced at the South Australian Literary Awards ceremony in October.

Fellowship categories

Mid-Career
2 x $10,000

First Nations
1 x $10,000

Emerging
2 x $3,000

Annual Fellows receive:

  • Writing prize (2 x $10,000 Mid-Career; 1 x $10,000 First Nations; 2 x $3,000 Emerging)
  • A travel stipend for writers from regional parts of the state to undertake a residency in Adelaide
  • Up to three months residency with a desk in the State Library, access to items in collections from Writers SA, State Library and National Archives
  • Presentation of a public workshop, and a public reading event each to be held at the Institute Building presented by Writers SA and the State Library (optional)
  • Complimentary tickets to Writers SA’s 2025 Pitch Conference.

How to apply

Applications will open on July 17 and must be submitted via the entry form by midnight August 11, 2024.

To apply:

Please follow this link to the expression of interest form where you can fill in your details.

You will be asked to supply:

  • your contact details
  • a brief, relevant bio (max. 100 words)
  • a 500 word description of the manuscript or creative project to be undertaken during the Fellowship, including any SLSA collections that you will draw upon for research or in the writing process.
  • artistic support material (an excerpt of the current project or previous creative works: one chapter of manuscript, or twenty pages of writing if still in early development stage. Please outline the connection of the support material to your proposed project.)

 

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 (the submission can be in early stages of development, but we want to see that you have a viable and dynamic project in mind)
  2. You must be a South Australian resident for at least 12 months.
  3. You must be 18 years or older.
  4. You must be able to take up the Fellowship between 1 February-30 May 2025, and if circumstances beyond your control prevent you from attending during this time, 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 the judges and Writers SA. The decision will be final, and no discussion will be entered into with applicants. 
  6. The annual Fellow will have the option of a desk space at Writers SA and the State Library for between one and three months, and will be engaged in a number of events during this period.
  7. Emerging is unpublished and mid-career is a minimum of one published book or collection.
  8. Entries can be fiction, nonfiction and/or poetry collections, and preference will be given to projects that make use of the library or library collections.

Presented by Writers SA and State Library of South Australia, with investment from Creative Australia (Australia Council for the Arts), Arts South Australia and the Libraries Board of South Australia.

Stay in the loop:

The latest literary news, events, opportunities, workshops, competitions and more, delivered weekly to your inbox.

Major Supporters