Our residency exchange with Australia continues in 2025 – see here for information and the application.
New Zealand writer Dominic Hoey and Australian writer Kathryn Heyman were the recipients of the 2024 New Zealand-Australia residency exchange, an international residency programme held by Varuna, the Australian National Writers House in collaboration with the Michael King Writers Centre in Auckland.
The four-week residency exchange took place during October and November 2024. Before flying to Wellington to participate in the Verb Wellington Readers & Writers Festival, Kathryn spent her time at the Michael King Writers Centre working on a memoir based on creative investigation. Dominic worked on his latest book, a novel, at Varuna and appeared at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival.
New Zealand writer Emma Hislop and Australian writer Fiona Kelly McGregor were the recipients of the 2023 New Zealand-Australia residency exchange.
Kate Mildenhall was the Australian recipient of the inaugural New Zealand residency exchange in 2022 and Gina Cole was the New Zealand writer who was selected to go to Australia to take up a residency at Varuna, her four-week residency exchange also took place in October 2022.
For more information about the program, see the Varuna website.
New Zealand’s literary exchange with Australia is available through a partnership between Varuna Writers House in Katoomba New South Wales, Australia and the Michael King Writers Centre. This residency programme is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts.