Varuna First Nations Fellowship 2025 recipients announced
Varuna, the National Writers’ House has announced 12 recipients of the 2025 Copyright Agency First Nations Fellowship.
The 2025 fellowship recipients are:
- Sharlene Allsopp
- Alison J Barton
- Skye Cusack
- Eugenia Flynn
- Fletcher Glover
- Samia Goudie
- Sonya Holowell
- Natalie Ironfield
- Amanda Lott
- Darren Moncrieff
- Beau Windon
- Edith Wright.
Maya Hodge and Rhianna Patrick were also named highly commended entrants.
The fellowship is open annually for First Nations writers working in all genres. This year, the organisation stated that it was enabled to expand the program to include additional places and a further residency week.
‘These additional places allow us to broaden our focus to include more nonfiction work, such as language preservation projects, family histories, and culturally significant research,’ said Varuna at the time.
Said the organisation of the 2025 recipients and their projects: ‘The selected writers cover a broad range of projects, from a children’s book about a Koori boy and his quest to save his school crush from a mischievous reality hopping rogue, to a verse novel that explores the complexity of relations between German Lutheran missionaries and the Australian Indigenous peoples, from a nonfiction book tracking the evolution, rise and fall of an Aboriginal Aussie Rules football club, to a relatable and heartwarming romantic comedy about connection to Country, loved ones, and yourself.’
Winners are invited to participate in a one-week residency at Varuna from 24 November to 1 December 2025 or from 1 to 8 December 2025, with travel costs reimbursed and food included. One-on-one mentorship with a First Nations mentor is also part of the program.
The First Nations Fellowship program began in 2017 with the support of the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund. Last year, five recipients were chosen.
More information about the 2025 fellows is available on the Varuna website.
Category: Awards Local news
