In 2025, the KSP Writers’ Centre is proud to be hosting up to 20 residency placements for emerging Australian writers from diverse and marginalised backgrounds as part of our debut Caruso Writer-in-Residence Program. Selected participants will have the opportunity to tune out the noise of everyday life and focus on the development of a creative writing project, by spending two weeks in one of our cosy self-contained cottages.
Thanks to funding from Creative Australia, this brand-new pilot program goes beyond the offer of a residential placement. Through dynamic partnerships with Writing WA and Dragonfly Publishing, and with generous ongoing support from the Shire of Mundaring, all Caruso Writers-in-Residence will receive a substantial stipend, bespoke support to ensure accessibility, paid opportunity to present a workshop, paid opportunity to be interviewed, peer support, and publication of a short piece of work in an anthology.
This pilot initiative is designed to amplify fresh voices in the literary world. It’s a celebration of storytelling, inclusion, and the power of perspective.
What does the residency include?
As part of the residency, writers will gain access to a diverse array of support tailored to their unique needs. This includes, but isn’t limited to, the following resources and opportunities:
• A two-week stay in a self-contained writing cottage at the KSP Writers’ Centre in Greenmount, Perth, Western Australia
• Residency stipend of $2,000 (AUD) plus workshop and podcast interview fee at ASA rates, if applicable
• Optional: An opportunity to present a writing skills workshop
• Optional: Be interviewed by Writing WA CEO and former Literary Editor of The West Australian, Will Yeoman for Podstreet
• Additional stipend towards childcare-related costs for primary carers, if applicable
• Additional stipend towards travel-related costs, if travelling from interstate or a regional/remote area of WA
• Guidance from peers and established authors through complimentary writing group sessions
• Access to heritage walking trails
• Access to in-house library
• Access to a private, moderated Facebook group exclusive to the Caruso cohort
• Engagement with the Perth hills writing community
• Publication of a short creative piece up to 1000 words in an exclusive anthology by Dragonfly Publishing – this can be either a stand-alone short story or poem, or an extract of a larger work.
Applications open: August 1, 2024
Applications close: September 18, 2024
Residency dates: throughout 2025