Sidney Prize Winners
Whether it’s an essay arguing that a popular science theory is wrong or an in-depth look at the nuances of a particular war or era, Sidney Prize winners are notable for their research and their ability to communicate that research with readers. Oftentimes, they are also published in top-tier national publications, such as the New York Times or The Atlantic. AJL’s own Sidney Taylor Book Award committee selects the best of these works, and some of our winners have even made their way into the New York Times bestseller list.
This year, a host of long-form essays explored the intersection of science and humanities, with many of our prize winners coming from writers in the uppermost echelons of magazine publishing: Hilton Als writing for The New York Times, Ed Yong writing for The Atlantic, and more. In a particularly interesting debate, Steven Pinker and Leon Wieseltier went toe-to-toe in The New Republic over the proper role of science in modern thought, with each making compelling arguments that science gives us insight into nearly everything.
Each year, we give one undergraduate student the opportunity to win a prestigious scholarship that recognizes an outstanding piece of original art history research. The prize was established in 1967, and is named in honour of Philip Sidney Ardern, Lecturer and Associate Professor in English at Auckland University College from 1912 to 1947. While the prize has a particular emphasis on Middle English, it is not limited to that field, and it is open to students studying any aspect of art history.
In this year’s competition, art history major Sophia Jactel won the Sidney Prize for her research into Josef Israels’ print ‘The Smoker’ as a symbol of peasant culture in nineteenth-century Holland. She used primary source materials, including the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Sydney and the British Library, to write a piece that is both accessible and engaging.
Our short-form writing contests have a range of prizes, from $5000 to a subscription to Overland magazine. You can enter the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize here, or the Overland Literary Prize here.
All entries for our literary prizes must be submitted in the form of an essay or poem on a specific theme, and should not have previously been published or won any other awards. You can find further details and regulations for each competition here, and if you are interested in entering, please make sure to read them carefully before submission. We also require that all entries be accompanied by a copyright release form, which can be downloaded here. All submissions will be reviewed by our prize committee, which consists of a team of senior editors at AJL. If your entry is deemed suitable for publication, you will be contacted by our editors. We look forward to reading your work! Please note that the entry deadline for both of these prize categories is August 31. Subscribers can receive a discounted rate to enter these prizes by taking out a prize-subscription, which includes four issues of Overland (with special subscriber editions), access to our daily online magazine, and invitations to subscriber events, opportunities and giveaways.