In an era of short attention spans and clickbait headlines, longform journalism and thought pieces remain effective ways to inform, provoke and challenge readers. The 2023 Sidney Prizes have just been announced, honouring some of the year’s best examples of these genres. From Hilton Als writing for The New York Times to Ed Yong at The Atlantic, this year’s list is a reminder that quality work deserves to be recognised and rewarded.
The Hillman Foundation’s Sidney Prize recognises socially-conscious journalism that promotes peace with justice. The winner receives a cash prize of $5000 and two runners-up will have their stories published in Overland. Judges Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh whittled down more than 500 entries to select this year’s shortlist. Their choices reflect the diversity of the submissions, and a commitment to maintaining the integrity of the judging process.
Overland is also delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. This year’s winning short story, ‘Who Rattles the Night?’ by Claire Aman, will be published in Overland’s autumn 2024 edition. The judges would like to thank all those who submitted stories, and congratulate the shortlisted writers.
In memory of the late SHOT member Sidney Edelstein, an expert on dye history and founder of a specialty chemical manufacturing business, the Edelstein prize was established in 1968. It is awarded annually to an outstanding book on the history of technology, and honours Edelstein’s enduring commitment to scholarship in this field.
The George Barrett Award for Public Interest Law honours a legal practitioner whose career exemplifies the public spirit and activism of George “Citizen” Barrett, an advocate and leader of workers and citizens’ rights. The 2024 recipient is Philippe Sands KC, who represents the underserved and disenfranchised with skill and compassion in the best tradition of public interest law.
Sydney Film Festival’s award winners are presented with a mesmeric swirl award, designed and handcrafted by Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy of Dinosaur Designs. Each award is engraved with its name and the year in which it was won.
Each of the winners will be awarded a sum of money and the opportunity to present a public lecture about their winning project at Sydney University. The finalists will also be invited to attend the Sydney premiere of their winning film on 12 September.
Each year, the NSW Government awards over $5.3 million to individuals and organisations through its performing arts grants programs. The Trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund believe that performance should be rewarded and achievement acknowledged, and that achievement should be financially rewarded.
In addition to presenting the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards, the Trustees of the Fund support various other performing arts and cultural projects in the community through their grant programs. These include the New Theatre Works and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) funding schemes, the NSW Government’s NSW Creative Industries Program and a range of private foundations.