QWC Varuna 2026 fellowships announced

Varuna has announced the 2026 recipients and shortlisted writers for the Queensland Writers Centre (QWC) fellowships.

The recipient of the 2026 QWC Established Writers Fellowship is Ashley Hay, author and Meanjin establishing editor, who will use the residency to work on “Imagineering: Field Notes from the Frontlines of the Future”.

Shortlisted for the fellowship were Courtney Cavallaro for “Mu-mma” and Anna McGahan for “Motherf*cker”.

The recipient of the 2026 QWC Underrepresented Writers Fellowship is Sean West, who will work on his poetry collection “Disappearing Acts”, the runner-up in the 2025 Thomas Shapcott Poetry Prize.

Shortlisted for the fellowship were Amanda Lott for “Barefoot Running” and Andrea Cabañas for “My Body Belongs To Me”.

This year’s judges were Madonna Duffy (University of Queensland Press), Rohan Wilson (Queensland University of Technology) and Stephen Torre (James Cook University Brisbane).

Established in 2022, the QWC fellowships provide recipients with a two-week residency at Varuna, including travel costs and manuscript consultation, with applications open to QWC members.

The QWC Established Writers Fellowship is open to writers with at least one publication, while the QWC Underrepresented Writers Fellowship is open to both emerging and established writers from underrepresented groups.

More information about the fellowship program is available on the QWC website.

Category: Awards Local news