Writers SA is thrilled to team up with Varuna, the National Writers’ House, to offer two 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 Writers SA Varuna Fellowship will open for applications on 23 February 2026.

The Writers SA Varuna Fellowship is open to all writers living in South Australia who are current Writers SA members and 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 two weeks (fourteen nights) of mostly self-directed quiet writing time, and includes:

• a travel subsidy of $350* 
• a one-hour consultancy session with one of Varuna’s external writing consultants. This is to be held during the residency weeks.** 
• full board and accommodation, with all meals, uninterrupted time to write in your own private work space, and the companionship of your fellow writers.

To learn more about joining Writers SA, please click here.

How to apply

Applications will open February 16 2026, and close 11:59pm (ACST) Sunday April 12, 2026. The successful recipients will be notified early June 2026.

Applications must be submitted via this link.

These residencies will take place between July 2026 and December 2026 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. 

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/Varuna2026

• your contact details
• 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 financial Writers SA member
4. You must be able to take up the residency between July and December 2026, and if circumstances beyond your control prevent you from attending, you must notify Writers SA of this immediately
5. The recipients 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.

* Fellowship recipients will need to pay their own travel expenses. Writers with a healthcare card, or those who are facing financial hardship, can apply to the Varuna Equity Fund for up to $350 towards expenses, upon presentation of receipts. For those unable to meet travel costs upfront, Varuna are able to assist with bookings.

** This will include the consultant reading a short extract of up to 10 pages of the writer’s work in advance of the sessions.