Sidney prize is an honor given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of humanities and social sciences. Winners of the Sidney Prize are recognized for their scholarship and public service in the spirit of the late George Barrett, a longtime trustee of the Foundation. This year, the Foundation is pleased to award Philippe Sands KC, an Australian barrister who works for people without money or power, defending their basic civil and human rights, addressing the legacies of colonialism and protecting our global environment.

Founded in 1596, the University of Sydney has always punched way above its weight. It has produced politicians, artists, philosophers and writers, as well as soldiers, explorers, archaeologists, businesspeople and scientists. It has even found time to produce a Premiership football club chairman, best-selling authors and Sherlock Holmes.

But as technology races ahead of us, it is often the case that long-form journalism and thought are sacrificed in favour of snatches of opinion in a crowded media landscape. At the very least, essays become op-eds and op-eds become blog posts, and so on. In response, the Sidney Awards stand athwart technology, yelling ‘stop’, recognizing some of the finest examples of long-form writing and thought.

The Sidney DeVere Brown Prize and Mikiso Hane Prize are two of the most prestigious undergraduate essay prizes in Australian Literature and East Asian Studies. The prize offers a total of $100, and a publication opportunity in the Wittenberg East Asian Studies Journal. Submissions are evaluated by a team of academics in the relevant field. To enter the competition, submit a paper composed during your undergraduate studies to the Sidney DeVere Brown Prize Submission Portal or the Mikiso Hane Prize Submission Portal.

Overland is offering a free entry to the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize 2023 for new subscribers. You can also receive a discount on your subscription when you enter. The deadline for entries is 30 November 2019.

The prize honours the legacy of Professor Sidney J Levy, one of the founding fathers of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT). The prize is awarded to an author of a published dissertation-based article in CCT or related theoretical areas. There is also an honorable mention prize ($1000).