The Sidney Prize, created annually in collaboration with the City of Sydney, offers encouragement and support for research that promotes peace with justice. Winning teams receive both financial awards as well as in-kind assistance. In addition, Sydney City promotes their work to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Honoring Professor Sidney Cox, this prize recognizes writing that adheres to high ideals. Open to students of any major – English study isn’t required! – provided their writing meets these standards.
George Polk judges present this annual prize to long-form investigative journalism that exposes local, state or federal government corruption; military injustice; war crimes, genocide or sedition; or authoritarian government abuse. The winner will receive $25,000 as well as a commemorative plaque.
The Sidney Hillman Foundation recognizes excellence in journalism that serves the common good, particularly regarding social and economic injustice. Each month’s winners of its Sidney prize are considered for consideration for an annual Hillman Prize award in spring.
Judges for the award include notable scholars and journalists like Rose Arce, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Hendrik Hertzberg, Katrina vanden Heuvel and Harold Meyerson. Each month a panel of writers selected from Overland editorial staff selects an article nominated via email before its submission deadline on the last day of every month.
Greg Palast won the December Sidney prize for “Jim Crow Returns,” and “Challenging Crosscheck”, his two-part series exploring how states use Interstate Crosscheck – a system which confuses one person’s name with another and flags them as potential vote fraudsters – to purge voters from voter rolls. Both pieces delved deep into data politics while showing how this anti-fraud measure was actually hurting democracy.
Winners receive a certificate designed by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Sorel and a bottle of union-made wine on every second Wednesday of the month. A winner is announced each time.
Enter the Sidney Prize by clicking here; subscribers receive a discount and may compete as potential prize winners. Become an Overland subscriber here, and receive four print issues delivered right to your door plus daily online magazine access and invitations to subscriber events, opportunities and giveaways!
The Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is an annual competition to recognize outstanding travel-inspired short fiction of no more than 3,500 words in length, inspired by travel or adventure. The top prize winner will receive $5000 and publication in Overland magazine; runners-up will each be given $750 as rewards.
The Malcolm Robertson Foundation and Sidney Hillman Prize jointly fund this prize. Entry is free; however, to take part you must register on their website and provide an author pen name before participating. All entries will be checked using Turnitin in order to ensure academic integrity.