The sidney prize honours investigative journalism and focuses on deeply reported work that has a direct impact. It is awarded by The Sidney Hillman Foundation to work published in an American magazine, newspaper or online news site.
The award was founded in 2004 and is named after philosopher and political theorist Sidney Hook, who was born in 1939. The prize is open to works that have appeared in a journal, newspaper, or online news site during the previous month. The deadline for nominations is the last day of the month.
It is sponsored by The Sydney Peace Foundation at the University of Sydney and awarded in partnership with the City of Sydney. The award is given to a global voice that promotes peace and justice. Past winners include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Patrick Dodson, Arundhati Roy, Mary Robinson, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and the Black Lives Matter Global Network.
Since its inception, the sidney prize has recognised a diverse range of individuals. The list includes writers, activists, journalists, scholars, musicians, artists and politicians who have dedicated their lives to promoting peace and justice in the world.
This year’s winner of the sidney prize is The Uluru Statement: A Call to Indigenous People and Communities for Peace, Love, and Justice. Its co-winners will be Alyawarre woman Pat Anderson AO, Cobble Cobble woman Professor Megan Davis and Guugu Yimidhirr man and University of Sydney Law School alum Noel Pearson. Teela Reid, First Nations Lawyer in Residence at Sydney Law School, said the award was a tribute to those who had helped the statement to become a powerful and influential document.
As well as being a major supporter of the Sydney Peace Prize, The City of Sydney provides funding for it along with other in-kind support in order to foster peace with justice. The City of Sydney has worked in partnership with the Sydney Peace Foundation since its inception and has a long-term commitment to the prize and to the cause of creating a society where people can thrive.
In addition to the sidney prize, the Sydney Peace Foundation also awards the Anne Dunn Prize and the Judith Yates Essay Prize in Economics. These prizes recognise the best essays that explore unmet societal needs.
For more information about these prizes, see the Sydney University USA Foundation.
Sidney Altman made a controversial discovery at Yale in 1972 that altered the way scientists thought about RNA. In collaboration with graduate students, he discovered that the protein component of RNase P (a gene) could be destroyed by enzymes that killed RNA.
The discovery changed the scientific understanding of RNA and has since been used to develop new medicines. The Sidney Prize is given annually in recognition of this landmark achievement.
Overland has announced the shortlist for its 2021 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize. The competition is open to any writer from anywhere in the world, at any stage of their writing career. This year’s judges, Julie Koh, Alice Robinson and Mykaela Saunders, have chosen eight shortlisted stories from over 400 entries. The top three will be published in Overland 230, autumn 2020.