Varuna Residency – Alumni

Varuna Writers Residency

New Zealand writer Ingrid Horrocks and Australian writer Fiona Murphy have been announced as the recipients of the 2025 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 2025. Fiona will spend her time at the Michael King Writers Centre working on her debut novel. Ingrid will work on her latest book, a novel, at Varuna and will appear at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival.

Ingrid 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 Dominic Hoey and Australian writer Kathryn Heyman were the recipients of the 2024 New Zealand-Australia residency exchange.

In 2023 it was Emma Hislop (NZ) and Fiona Kelly McGregor (Aust.) and Kate Mildenhall was the Australian recipient of the inaugural residency exchange in 2022 whilst Gina Cole was the New Zealand writer who was selected to go to Australia that year.

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 Creative Australia (previously known as Australia Council for the Arts).
Ingrid Horrocks: 2025 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna 1707 1707 Michael King Writers Centre

Ingrid Horrocks: 2025 Australian Residency Exchange – to Varuna

Wellington based writer Ingrid’s creative publications span two decades and a number of genres, including two poetry books, two books of narrative nonfiction, an edited collection on imaginings of place, and now a fiction debut, All Her…

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Fiona Murphy: 2025 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC 1707 1707 Michael King Writers Centre

Fiona Murphy: 2025 Australian Residency Exchange – to MKWC

Fiona is an award-winning writer and arts critic based in the Blue Mountains. Her writing about disability, accessibility and the arts has appeared in The Guardian, ABC, The Saturday Paper, Griffith Review, The Big Issue.…

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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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