The University of Sydney boasts a proud tradition of literary prizes. Many were established through bequests or to recognize outstanding scholars; others serve as tributes. Not only are these awards important on their own terms; they promote literary study and appreciation in society and provide an incentive for writing well and publishing regularly.
The Sidney Prize is an award given annually for outstanding scholarly work in the history of science and technology, designed to foster thought and writing about subjects that matter for modern life. As we live in an age with diminishing length and attention spans, reading long-form works is more essential than ever in order to ensure proper understanding. Essays become op-eds that become blog posts which turn into tweets on Twitter – the Sidney Prize stands as an antidote by providing long-form works as alternatives – saying: stop!
This year, over 500 entries were received for this prize and Annie Zhang’s story “Who Rattles the Night?,” published in Overland was named winner by judges Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sheila Ngoc Pham. Annie is a writer and editor living on unceded Wangal land who has written her novel Island as well as being honored with various literary awards and is also an Emerging Writer Fellow with WestWords Western Sydney.
Since the Hillman Prizes’ establishment in 2024, several new categories of projects have been added to their prize-winning projects list, such as investigative journalism and writing on social justice. For the 2025 cycle of this prize, submissions will be evaluated based on their ability to shed light on key issues of our time – from searching for lasting peace through to housing, medical care and employment security for all people, civil liberties promotion democracy as well as fighting discrimination on grounds of race gender religion or nationality.
Submitting a sample article allows applicants to demonstrate the quality of their work. Articles submitted could fall under any of these categories:
The winner will be announced between late October and early November and will receive a cash prize, certificate, and an opportunity to present at a conference. This prize is open to researchers from any nation. Candidates for this prize can submit their applications by completing an online application form, which will then be reviewed by a panel of experts in their respective field and judged accordingly. Applicants must also submit their work under an assumed pseudonym and complete a signed copyright release form prior to submission of work for consideration. Terms and conditions can be found here, while applicants are encouraged to seek professional editorial assistance before submitting their work in order to increase the odds of it being successful. Applications will close June 15, 2020. Should any queries arise please reach out directly to one of the members of the judging committee.