Eligibility:

• Applicants must be 18 years or older and either an Australian citizen or a permanent resident.
• Poets must have been previously commissioned or programmed in a paid capacity by Red Room Poetry, except for those applying to the Emerging Poets or Anywhere Remote Fellowships. If you are unsure of your eligibility, please feel welcome to contact us well in advance of the application deadline to check.
• Poets commissioned for Poetry Month as part of 30in30 across 2025 are ineligible to apply for the 2026 Fellowship - but will be eligible for the 2027 Fellowship and beyond.
• Availability is required for a one-week residency from Monday 24 August - Monday 31 August 2026. Fellows must attend in-person at Varuna, or complete the Anywhere Remote Fellowship during the same week. Dates are non-transferable.
• Fellows must be prepared to record, publish, and speak publicly about their poetry and creative process.

All applications will be assessed de-identified (i.e. without the names of applicants included) by the Judging Panel against the same selection criteria - including the Emerging Poets and Anywhere Remote Fellowships. This criteria is equally weighted.

1. Impact - Potential for this Fellowship to support your creative development and advance your proposed poetic project, and demonstrated readiness to make the most of the opportunity.
   
   Tip: This may include goals for your Fellowship week, or an explanation of how this opportunity will fuel your practice now and into the future.
   
2. Project Merit - The creative concepts, processes and poems submitted show a high degree of originality and contribute to the wider culture of contemporary poetry in Australia.
   
   Tip: This is assessed on the strength of the poems submitted with your application and your project description.
   
3. Work Sample: A publication opportunity as part of Poetry Month is included alongside the Fellowship, so we ask that poems submitted with your application be original, unpublished, and not out for submission elsewhere. Red Room Poetry does not publish poetry that has been created with the assistance of AI.

At least one of the six places is reserved for a First Nations poet, at least one for a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse poet, and two for Emerging Poets. The Anywhere Remote Fellowship is designed to broaden access for poets who face additional barriers that may make traveling to Varuna a challenge.

Applicants can self-identify through the submission process, and indicate which opportunities they are applying for. Applications are assessed anonymously in the first instance, and the balance of selected Fellows determined in the final stage of the selection process.

Red Room Poetry staff follow the commitments outlined in our Truth and Reconciliation Pledge.

Emerging Poets Fellowship

For the purposes of this program, an emerging poet is defined as a poet who has had no more than one full-length collection of poetry published.

Anywhere Remote Fellowship

The Anywhere Remote Fellowship is designed to broaden access for poets who face additional barriers - which may include access requirements, caring responsibilities or challenges with travel, and is self-identified.

You can choose to apply for this Fellowship instead of the in-person options by selecting the checkbox on the entry form. This Fellowship includes the stipend, an online one-on-one mentorship session, public reading opportunity and publication opportunity (with additional fees) but does not include accommodation.

1. Applications are open exclusively to poets previously commissioned or programmed by Red Room Poetry, unless applying for the Emerging Poets or Anywhere Remote Fellowships. Poets must indicate the project(s) for which they were engaged.
2. Entries must address all criteria outlined in the application form (see Selection Criteria).
3. Multiple entries from the same applicant are not permitted.
4. Applications previously submitted to Red Room Poetry Fellowships may not be re-entered unless they have been significantly reworked. Substantial changes should include meaningful revisions to concept, form, or content, rather than minor edits or formatting adjustments.
5. Submitted works must be original, individual authorship, and must not infringe copyright. Plagiarised works will be disqualified.
6. A publication opportunity as part of Poetry Month is included alongside the Fellowship, so we ask that poems submitted with your application be original, unpublished, and not out for submission elsewhere. Red Room Poetry does not publish poetry that has been created with the assistance of AI.
7. Submissions must include a high-quality colour headshot and a 50-word biography. These will be used only if the application is successful for promotional purposes.
8. Visual poems must include a 300-word exegesis. Audio poems (up to 3 minutes) are permitted if preferred by the poet.
9. Applications open: 9am, Tuesday 2 December 2025 (AEDT)
10. Applications close: 5pm, Tuesday 3 February 2026 (AEDT)
11. Individual feedback for unsuccessful applications will not be provided.
12. Copyright of all submitted works remains with the poet.

Applications will be assessed anonymously, with selections based solely on the strength of the project proposal, the poet’s goals for their Fellowship, and their work sample.

Applications which ranked highly in previous years showed:

1. Strong work samples - the poetry submitted was original and compelling
2. A strong and unique project proposal which had been refined
3. Detail around how this opportunity would be a springboard for their practice and career at this particular stage, such as a defined project proposal and/or outlined goals they were aiming to achieve with the Fellowship time
4. Clarity around why this particular Fellowship would be of benefit to the poet, such as a demonstration of the challenges in accessing dedicated time and space to write for the artist, or a desire to connect with poetic peers as part of a cohort
5. Poets showed a sustained commitment to poetic practice and engagement with the poetry community in Australia and/or elsewhere

Please complete the online application form via Varuna's website here including:

1. Project description (1-2 sentences, 500 characters)
2. Details of previous projects or events you have been commissioned or programmed for in a paid capacity by Red Room Poetry (except for applicants to the Emerging Poets or Anywhere Remote Fellowships)
3. Impact statement: How will this opportunity benefit your creative development, and what are your goals for your Fellowship week? (1000 characters)
4. Three recent poems (max 3 pages) or audio poems (max 3 minutes). Please note, poems must be previously unpublished and not under consideration elsewhere.
5. Hi-res artist headshot and 50-word biography: To be used on our digital channels only if you are selected as a Fellow.
6. Anywhere Remote Fellowship applicants: Outline how a remote Fellowship would benefit your practice.

A Word version of the application form is available here for drafting your application.

Ready to submit? Complete the online application form here.

Questions about your application? Check the FAQs, or contact us via fellowship@redroompoetry.org

Alternative Submission Formats

Need a different format? We encourage all applicants to use the online form if possible, as this is the easiest way for us to manage applications. A Word version is available here for drafting your application.

Contact us at access@redroompoetry.org if you need these guidelines in another format, or if you need to submit your application in a different format including video or audio.