What is a Sidney Prize?
A sidney prize is an award given to people who make a difference in the world. These prizes are often awarded for academic achievement, or for social activism. There are a number of different sidney prizes available, each with their own advantages and requirements. Some of the most well-known include the Sydney Peace Prize, which recognises leading global voices that promote peace and nonviolence. Past winners have included Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson.
The Sidney Cox Memorial Prize is offered annually for that piece of undergraduate writing which most nearly meets those high standards of originality and integrity which Sidney Cox set both for himself and for his students in his teaching. It is open to any kind of undergraduate writing in English and may be submitted by any Dartmouth student, not just those majoring in the subject of the work. The Committee will judge the manuscripts yearly and, if possible, meet in Hanover to consider them; it is also hoped that some of the manuscripts will be published in The Dartmouth Review in advance of the announcement of the winner.
In the field of journalism, the Hillman Foundation awards the Sidney prize. It was established in 1946 to honor the vision of Sidney Hillman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America labor union (a precursor of Unite Here and Workers United) who fought for a better America and a progressive industrial democracy. The Foundation he founded continues to work for these goals by illuminating critical issues and seeking equitable solutions for the working class.
Other notable sidney prizes include the Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award, which is granted to an emerging creative working in short film. The 2024 winner of this prize was Nazanin Boniadi, whose story The Dancing Girl and the Balloon Man explores an Iranian family’s struggles with ghosts in their new home. The winning entry will be published in Overland magazine in autumn 2024, and the runners-up stories will appear online.
Another important sidney prize is the Andrew Gemant Prize, which is given to those who have made significant contributions to bridging the gap between physics and the arts, media, and literature. This year, the 2023 winner was physicist Sidney Perkowitz for his work connecting art and culture to science.
There are several other notable sidney prizes in the fields of music, literature, and theatre. For example, the Sydney Writers’ Festival offers a range of literary awards, including the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, which is given to writers who show a high level of ability and promise in their work. This award has been given to authors such as Margaret Atwood, Tim Flannery and JG Ballard. The Festival’s Emerging Artist Award is also a sidney prize, and it is granted to an emerging artist who shows exceptional promise in their work. The Sydney International Poetry Slam is another sidney prize, and it is awarded to the best performer at a competition run by the Australian Writers’ Guild.