The Sidney Prize honors those who have made a significant contribution to the promotion of scholarship by engaging in public service activities beyond their academic careers. The prize was established in 1967 in memory of Philip Sidney Ardern, Professor of English at Auckland University College from 1912 to 1947. It was originally intended to promote the study of Old and Middle English literature, but has since broadened to include studies in all areas of the humanities.
The National Association of Scholars annually awards the Sidney Prize at its national conference to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the defense of academic freedom and integrity of the academy. The Foundation also offers the monthly Sidney Awards to recognize investigative journalism in service of the common good.
In this day of short attention spans and instant gratification, we often find ourselves consumed with the minutiae of daily life, which is why it’s so important to step back every now and again and take a look at the big picture. An article by Walter Russell Mead in the American Interest did just that for us this year, winning a Sidney Prize for its “exquisite essay on the conflict between two competing versions of liberalism: the small-state Manchester liberal doctrine of the 1890s and the large organization managerial state version of the 1950s.”
Each month the Foundation presents the Hillman Prize for Journalistic Excellence in U.S and Canada, and the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize in Australia. Both of these awards seek high-quality works that explore and explain social and economic injustices. Nominations are open to all journalists. To be considered for the award a piece of journalism must appear in the previous month and be nominated by a person or group by submitting a short paragraph explaining why it deserves the prize. Nominations close the last day of each month.
To enter the Sidney Prize, you must be a member of Overland, which provides discounted entry to all our competitions, as well as four print issues each year and daily access to our online magazine. The winner will be announced the second Wednesday of each month. The prize is worth $5000 for the first place winner and $750 each for the runners-up. Overland will publish the winning work in our summer 2023 edition and the runners-up stories will be published online.