Each year, Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin awards scholarship places for our prestigious and selective long courses. Scholarship applications are now open for our 2027 courses: Writing Creative Nonfiction, Writing a Novel (Brisbane), Writing a Novel (Hobart), Writing a Novel (Melbourne), Writing a Novel (Sydney), Writing a Novel (Online), and Writing a YA Novel. We are pleased to announce that in 2027 we will also offer scholarship places for Writing for Kids: Picture Books and Children’s Fiction.
In 2027 we are offering two scholarships per class, both merit-based. The full Faber Writing Scholarship is open to anyone, and offers successful applicants the chance to study for free. We are also introducing a new partial scholarship (25% off the full price course) exclusively for under-represented voices. Our definition of “under-represented voices” includes, but is not limited to: First Nations writers, writers of colour, writers from a CaLD background, disabled writers, LGBTQIA+ writers and other under-represented groups. People from an under-represented background remain eligible for the full scholarship, as well as this new partial scholarship. We hope that this initiative will make our long, by-application courses more accessible for more people.
Register for our free online course and scholarship information session on 21 September, 2026.
One full scholarship (open to anyone) and one partial scholarship (open to under-represented voices) will be available in the following courses:
Writing Creative Nonfiction with Rebecca Giggs and Fiona Wright
Writing a Novel in:
- Brisbane with Emily O’Grady
- Hobart with Liz Evans and Kate Kruimink
- Melbourne with Miles Allinson, Francesca de Tores and Sophie Cunningham
- Sydney with Kavita Bedford
- Online with Peggy Frew
Writing a YA Novel with Shivaun Plozza
Writing for Kids with Davina Bell
Please ensure you have read all the Faber Academy Scholarship terms and conditions before making your application. If you have any questions, please get in touch.
The scholarship and early bird application deadline is midnight on Sunday 25 October 2026.
To apply, you will need to submit:
- An online application answering several questions asked by our course tutors.
- An attachment with a writing sample of up to 1,000 words, or 500-words if applying for Writing for Kids.
The writing sample you submit should be from the work you intend to develop during the course. It is unlikely that you will be awarded the scholarship if you have not yet started on your project.
The sample must be saved as a single Word file with your full name as the title of the document. Please do not include any other wording in the saved title.
Follow this link to submit your application.
Terms and Conditions of All Scholarships
• The scholarships must be undertaken in 2027 and cannot be transferred to another year or a different Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin course.
• By applying for one of our scholarships, you confirm that you adhere to the Proudly Human de minimis guidelines for appropriate use of AI. You especially confirm that no part of your final writing sample was composed using generative AI.
• Your writing sample must be saved as a single Word file, with your full name as the title of the document. Please do not include any other wording in the saved title other than your first and last name. Do not save as a PDF, or any other file format other than Word.
• The winners agree to commit to the entire duration of the course and will endeavour to attend each of the course sessions.
• Faber Writing Academy courses, and by proxy scholarship positions, are for citizens/residents of Australia or New Zealand aged 18 years and older.
• At the completion of the course, the winner agrees to write a piece about their experience of the course which can be used by Faber Writing Academy for promotional purposes.
• Faber Writing Academy at Allen & Unwin reserves the right to withdraw or not award a scholarship at any time.
• In the event that the course is cancelled, Faber Writing Academy cannot offer compensation or a transfer of the scholarship to any other Faber Writing Academy course.
• The scholarships cover the tuition fee only, except where otherwise stated. It does not cover any travel, accommodation or other costs you might incur by attending the course.
• The decision of the judging committee is final and no correspondence will be entered into.