Sydney Prizes celebrate and honor the work of people who strive to make a difference in the world. Some, like the Sydney Peace Prize, honour leading global voices who promote peace with justice and nonviolence – past recipients include Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson. Other, such as the Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award, give recognition to film creatives whose work stands out for its innovation and imagination. And others, such as the Sidney Hillman Prize, reward long-form journalism that exposes social injustice and inequality.
The Sidney Hillman Prize, established in 1950, recognizes writers whose long-form journalism has exposed social injustice or inequality. The Prize, named after the renowned American philosopher who was committed to the responsibilities of a free press, has awarded contributions to daily, periodical and labor presses, as well as authors and broadcasters.
In 2019, this prize was awarded to journalist Rachel Crane for her investigation into the case of a man who was charged with sexual assault but later died in prison after his conviction was overturned. The piece revealed that prison officials did not report the man’s death to police.
Overland Magazine and the Malcolm Robertson Foundation have teamed up to establish this new short story prize for writers of all ages. The Neilma Sidney Prize offers $5000 in prize money to the winning entry, as well as two runners-up prizes of $750 each. Entrants should submit a story of up to 3000 words that is loosely themed around travel and which has been published in the past year. Judges will shortlist eight entries and choose a winner from them. The winning story will be published in Overland’s autumn 2024 edition.
There are several other Sydney prizes that recognise a broad range of achievements in various fields, including art, letters, history and science. The Archibald Prize, for example, acknowledges achievement in the field of painting. Similarly, the Sidney Hook Memorial Award gives national distinction to an individual scholar in each of three endeavors — scholarship, undergraduate teaching and leadership in the cause of liberal arts education. The Society of Phi Beta Kappa also awards a Sidney Hook Prize to an individual who demonstrates excellence in each of these areas.
The Sydney Prizes are a great opportunity to learn more about a variety of subjects. In addition to the Prizes that are awarded each year, there are also numerous other scholarships and fellowships available for students at Dartmouth and in universities across the country. For more information on these and other opportunities, please visit our Financial Aid page. In the meantime, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact our office. We are always happy to help!
