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.

Kate Mildenhall is the Australian recipient of the inaugural New Zealand residency exchange, an international residency program held by Varuna, the National Writers’ House in collaboration with the Michael King Writers Centre in Auckland. Kate will travel to Aotearoa in October 2022 for her four-week residency, staying at Michael King Writers Centre and appearing at the Verb Literary Festival in Wellington during her time with us.

Gina Cole is the New Zealand writer who has been selected to go to Australia to take up a residency at Varuna. Gina will receive return flights to Sydney, four weeks accommodation and meals at Varuna, a NZ$5,000 stipend and the opportunity to appear at the Blue Mountains Writers’ Festival in October. The four-week residency exchange will also take place in October 2022.

The Varuna International Writers Residency Program is supported by the Australian Copyright Agency Cultural Fund, Copyright Licensing New Zealand  and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For more information about the program, see the Varuna website.