All applicants must provide a clear outline of their intended project.
Who can apply
This Fellowship is open to writers aged 18-35 years by the application closing date.
To be eligible to apply for this Fellowship, applicants must:
- Have published short stories or some work in literary magazines, journals, anthologies or curated/edited online sites
- Not have previously published full-length works, including novellas, chapbooks, or self-published work
Who can’t apply
Writers who have published a full-length work of any length, in fiction or any genre, are not eligible to apply for this Fellowship.
The following writers are not eligible to apply for a Fellowship. Writers who:
- Self-published their books
- Have previously published full-length works, including novellas, chapbooks, or self-published work
- Create young adult fiction, children’s fiction, including picture books, and graphic novels
- Seek support to create work for an academic or scholarly purpose and readership
- Seek support for editorial costs for their manuscript
Support Material
You must submit the following support material with your application as a PDF via the SmartyGrants online system:
- A compelling and detailed project description
- A writing sample of 2,000 words from your proposed new work to demonstrate your literary merit
- For equity purposes with other applicants your sample should not exceed 2,000 words
- A one-page CV with details of your published writing
APPLICATIONS OPEN 9AM AEDT 23 MARCH 2026
IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND GRANT OBLIGATIONS
- Once your application has been submitted, no changes can be made, regardless of whether it is submitted before the round closes.
- The successful applicant will agree to acknowledge the Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund in any publication arising from the Fellowship.
- Successful applicants must submit an acquittal report on their funded project within eight weeks of the completion of the project via the SmartyGrants online system.