Varuna Residency – Alumni

Varuna Writers Residency

New Zealand writer Dominic Hoey and Australian writer Kathryn Heyman have been announced as 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 will take place during October and November 2024. Before flying to Wellington to participate in the Verb Wellington Readers & Writers Festival, Kathryn will spend her time at the Michael King Writers Centre working on a memoir based on creative investigation. Dominic will work on his latest book, a novel, at Varuna and will appear at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival.

Dominic receives return flights to Sydney, four weeks accommodation and meals at Varuna and the opportunity to appear at the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival in November.

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.
Kathryn Heyman: 2024 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC 1660 1660 Michael King Writers Centre

Kathryn Heyman: 2024 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC

Dr Kathryn Heyman is the author of six novels and the acclaimed memoir, Fury, which was shortlisted for the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature and is in development as a feature film.  Her first novel,…

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Dominic Hoey: 2024 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna 1604 1604 Michael King Writers Centre

Dominic Hoey: 2024 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna

Dominic is a Tāmaki Makaurau based poet, author and playwright. His two novels, Iceland and Poor People With Money were New Zealand bestsellers. Iceland was long-listed for the 2018 Ockham Book Award. He’s released four…

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Fiona Kelly McGregor: 2023 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC 962 962 Michael King Writers Centre

Fiona Kelly McGregor: 2023 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC

Fiona’s most recent novel is Iris, longlisted for the Stella Prize and shortlisted for the NSW Premiers Awards. Previously, Indelible Ink won Age Book of the Year. Her non-fiction includes essay collection, Buried Not Dead, shortlisted…

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Emma Hislop: 2023 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna 1707 1708 Michael King Writers Centre

Emma Hislop: 2023 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna

Emma (Kāi Tahu) is a Taranaki based writer.  Her first book of short fiction, Ruin, was published in March 2023 with Te Herenga Waka University Press.  She has an MA with Distinction from the IIML…

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Gina Cole: 2022 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna 1708 1707 Michael King Writers Centre

Gina Cole: 2022 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna

Gina is of Fijian, Scottish and Welsh descent. She is a freelance writer and lives in Tāmaki Makaurau. Her collection Black Ice Matter won the Hubert Church Prize for Best First Book Fiction at the…

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Kate Mildenhall: 2022 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC 894 894 Michael King Writers Centre

Kate Mildenhall: 2022 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC

Kate is the much-acclaimed author of the novels Skylarking (Black Inc.) and The Mother Fault (S&S). The Mother Fault was longlisted for the 2021 ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year and shortlisted for the…

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