Each year, the Sidney Prize honors outstanding academic and literary works that span from novels, poetry collections, essays on various themes or subjects and more. These prestigious awards often serve as first exposures to talented writers and thinkers whose works they may otherwise never come across otherwise; their aim being to encourage readers to pause from daily life and consider larger matters while serving as a reminder that long form writing remains alive and kicking!
Clare Jackson of Trinity Hall’s Early Modern History Department at University of Sydney was awarded one of Australia’s prestigious prizes for history research with her book entitled, ‘French and British Cultural and Political Relations in the Seventeenth Century, by Clare Jackson – having also previously won various academic awards such as Sidney Awards in 2013 as part of her teaching and scholarship efforts. Her book won one of Australia’s premier history research prizes: Australia History Research Awards 2014.
The University of Sydney hosts numerous literary prizes each year and in celebration or ceremony, some being annual while others given out in special installments. All require authors or groups of authors submitting written works related to an assigned topic; prizes can be granted either to individuals or teams, undergraduate or postgraduate students alike, with winning works often published or otherwise distributed later.
Many Sydney prizes bear the names of prominent individuals or places. The Sydney Taylor Book Award, for instance, honors American philosopher Sydney Taylor with its annual conference offering an award in his name to honor those who have made exceptional contributions to academic freedom and the integrity of academic enterprise.
The Sydney Film Festival awards an array of prizes to emerging and established filmmakers alike, presented by an independent jury. Most prizes carry significant cash awards – for instance, Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award recognizes an emerging short film creative from NSW that works on shorts; its winner receives a cash prize worth $10,000!
The Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, sponsored by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, is open to writers worldwide at any stage in their careers. The winner receives $5000 and their story will be published in Overland magazine’s autumn issue 2024; two runners-up each receive $750 as awards from Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh’s judges (shortlisted from over 500 entries); winners will be announced shortly. For further details of this competition please visit Overland website.