In 2019 Cove Park will collaborate with Varuna, the National Writers’ House, Katoomba, Australia, to deliver a new residency exchange programme for writers based in Scotland and in Australia. The programme is supported by The Bridge Awards and will initially run for three years. This opportunity is open to writers [fiction, non-fiction, prose, poetry] who have previously been resident at Cove Park as part of the funded Literature programme. Selection will be based upon the quality of your ideas and work and the relevance of this opportunity to your current practice and research interests.

In 2019 this residency will take place form 29 July – 25 August.

Varuna, the National Writers House is located in Katoomba, which is part of the world heritage Blue Mountains region of New South Wales. Built by the Australian writer Eleanor Dark and her husband Dr Eric Dark in the late 1930s the house is now recognized as a site of cultural significance listed on the NSW heritage register. In 1989 Michael Dark, the son of Eleanor and Dr Eric Dark, gave the house to the Eleanor Dark Foundation so it could be used as a retreat for writers. Applicants must be able to commit to a residency in Australia during the dates specified. We expect applicants to engage with the writing community at Varuna. We are also looking to select a writer who has the ability to present their work as part of Sydney Writers’ Festival Blue Mountains Program.

The deadline for applications is noon on Tuesday 5 February 2019. For further information and details of how to apply, please see the Application Guidelies (link below) or contact Rebecca.DeWald@covepark.org

Scotland and Australia Residency Call Out Final, 2019