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The Australian Society of Authors and Varuna, the National Writers’ House, are thrilled to announce Emma Clancey as the winner of the 2024 ASA/Varuna Ray Koppe Young Writers Fellowship for her crime fiction manuscript, Bad Medicine.
Bad Medicine is described by Emma as an upmarket satirical thriller set at a cutthroat Australian medical school. The protagonist, Orion, is “caught in a high-stakes game of criminal dares with his rich – but morally bankrupt – classmates. Diana Reid’s Love & Virtue meets Susan White’s Cut.”
Emma says, “Receiving this fellowship is an incredible honour, and I’m deeply grateful to the ASA, Varuna, and the Koppe family for their belief in my work. As an emerging writer, this support and recognition is invaluable—as is the time and space to write that the residency generously offers. I look forward to developing Bad Medicine further at Varuna next year!”
Olivia Lanchester, ASA CEO, says, “Our warm congratulations to Emma on winning this Fellowship! We’re delighted to welcome you to the ASA community and to support you in the next steps of your career. As ever, we’d like to warmly thank the Koppe family who make this Fellowship possible and continue to honour Ray Koppe’s legacy in supporting emerging writers.”
Each year, the Australian Society of Authors awards a two-week residential fellowship to a writer under the age of 35 who is as yet unpublished. The fellowship is comprised of a two-week residency (including accommodation and all food), a one-hour consultation with a Varuna consultant, a year’s membership to the Australian Society of Authors, and travel subsidy if the recipient lives outside of NSW.
The residency has been established by the Koppe family as a tribute to their mother, Ray Koppe. Ray, who for many years managed the business affairs of the ASA, was always passionately interested in and supportive of, young writers. (Read more about Ray here)
The recipient will be asked to acknowledge The Ray Koppe Young Writers’ Residency in any published work associated with time spent at Varuna.
Past winners include Madeleine Rebbechi (2023), Aaliyah Sugitha (2022), Sarah Stivens (2021), Tim McGuire (2020), Hayley Scrivenor (2019), Holden Sheppard (2017), Nick Couldwell (2016), Chloe Higgins (2015), Danielle Binks (2014), Hannah Bent (2013), Dimitra Harvey (2012) and Renae Gibson (2011).
This flagship fellowship is part of the Varuna Residential Fellowships program: https://www.varuna.com.au/fellowships/varuna
Applications for the 2024 Residency Program open
17 June 2024
Applications close
Midnight, 31 July 2023
Date of residency
Between January and August 2025
You will need to submit between 7,000 and 10,000 words from the beginning of your manuscript, along with a synopsis of the entire work. For poetry, you need to send a selection of 10 poems.
Application fees are $70 per application, unless you are a financially current Varuna alumni member using your annual fee waiver. Application fees are used to pay professional assessors to read your work. If you have a Healthcare card, the application fee is $40.
How to prepare your submissions: https://www.varuna.com.au/resfellowships-preparing-your-submission
FAQs: https://www.varuna.com.au/residential-fellowships-faq
The Australian Society of Authors and Varuna, The National Writers’ House are thrilled to announce Madeleine Rebbechi as the winner of the 2023 ASA/Varuna Ray Koppe Young Writers Residency for her short story collection, Earth Signs.
Earth Signs is a collection of short fiction that builds elements of folk horror and suspense into a series of stories about everyday (and some not-so-everyday) people. The characters in these stories are from all walks of life, but many are single women who have found themselves on an isolated or unfamiliar path, often eschewing traditional lifestyles of marriage and children. In ‘Some More Violent Animal’, Grace’s pigs die in mysterious circumstances as she navigates the vitriol of some local farmers, none of them aware that something worse is coming. In ‘An Act of Faith’, a hairdresser weaves a shirt from the stolen offcuts of her ex-lover’s hair. In ‘Dip’, factory worker Gerry fantasises about encasing himself in wax, as his beloved wife Essie dies of chemical poisoning. And in ‘Further Under’, geologist Anna tries to find a way to properly bury her father, away from the prying eyes of a local hardware store owner.
Of her win, Madeleine said, “It’s an absolute honour and a thrill to receive this fellowship. As an emerging writer, this recognition feels so encouraging and validating—it’s a little voice saying, keep going! Varuna’s creative and restorative powers are legendary, and I can’t wait to dedicate some time to writing and developing my stories there next year. I am so grateful to Varuna, the ASA and the family of Ray Koppe for this opportunity.”
Olivia Lanchester, ASA CEO, says, “Our warm congratulations to Madeleine Rebbechi! We’re so excited to be able to welcome Madeleine as a member of the Australian Society of Authors and wish her all the very best with the development of her collection. We’re proud to honour Ray Koppe’s legacy with this fellowship and offer our sincere thanks to the Koppe family, whose generosity and support make it possible.”
The Australian Society of Authors and Varuna, the National Writers’ House are thrilled to announce Aaliyah Sugitha as the winner of the 2022 ASA/Varuna Ray Koppe Residency for her memoir Somatic.
Somatic is a memoir that explores the relationship between mother and daughter, mental health, and the body. In its current form, Somatic experiments with fragmentary poetic expression to depict trauma.
Aaliyah is a Sydney based teacher and emerging writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English Literature and History, and a Bachelor of Education. She has a fascination with the aesthetic workings of a text, and hopes to further explore this throughout her own work.
Aaliyah will be awarded a two-week residential fellowship at Varuna, a one-hour consultation with a Varuna consultant and a year’s membership with the ASA. We are delighted to welcome Aaliyah as a new member!
Congratulations Aaliyah!
The Australian Society of Authors and Varuna, the National Writers’ House are thrilled to announce Sarah Stivens as the winner of the 2021 ASA/Varuna Ray Koppe Young Writers Fellowship for her work of poetry, Therapeutic Discomfort.
Therapeutic Discomfort consists of ten poems that play with form and perspective, exploring themes of rural identities, lived experience of mental illness, trauma and the body, grief, and relationships.
Of her win Sarah said, “Being offered this opportunity is something I never would have dreamed of at the beginning of my writing journey. I’m so grateful for the encouragement, the belief in my work that this represents and the opportunity to develop this manuscript which means so much to me. I’m so proud to be a new ASA member and can’t wait to work alongside the Varuna team in 2022!”
The Australian Society of Authors and Varuna the National Writers’ House are thrilled to announce Tim McGuire as the winner of the 2021 ASA / Varuna Ray Koppe Young Writers Residency for his historical fiction, Game Farm. Game Farm is a creative re-imagining of one of Australia’s first emu farms, set in 1996. It’s a literary suspense novel exploring how external pressures on the farm amplify the personal struggles of the characters who inhabit it, and vice versa.
“The judges noted the strength of the narrative pace, the nuanced and interesting character development, and the unique setting of Tim McGuire’s manuscript,” said Amy Sambrooke, Creative Director of Varuna, the National Writers’ House.
Olivia Lanchester, ASA CEO said “We are proud to honour Ray Koppe’s legacy by supporting this important fellowship, and would like to congratulate Tim on his success. We’d also like tothank the Koppe family for their generous and continuing support for young writers.”
