The Sidney Prize is awarded monthly to outstanding journalism in a range of media. It honors a work that illuminates one of the foundation’s key priorities, which include the search for social justice and public policy for the common good. It also aims to promote high ideals in journalism. It is named after Sidney Hillman, who founded the foundation. It was first awarded in 2005. The foundation continues to award the Hillman Prize, which is given for “journalists and writers who pursue social justice and public policy in traditional and new media forms.”
The Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, recently organized by Overland, an Australian literary and cultural magazine, seeks excellent short fiction of up to 3000 words themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. The competition is open to all writers, national and international, at any stage of their careers. The winning story receives $5000 AUD and is published in Overland, with two runners-up receiving $750 AUD each. The judging panel, comprising Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh, reviewed more than 500 entries.
To enter, applicants must submit an original piece of short fiction up to 3000 words long. The piece must not have previously been published (including online) or be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Applicants must also identify whether their entry takes up the voice or experience of a marginalised community or identity, for example, an Aboriginal person, a woman, a non-binary person etc. This question is not compulsory, but the judges will take it into account when considering an entry.
A former playwright, poet and novelist, Ron Rash has won numerous awards for his work, including the O. Henry Prize for short stories and the PEN/Faulkner Award. In addition to his fiction and poetry, he has written four collections of essays. He is also a professor of Appalachian literature at Western Carolina University.
Sidney was born in Liverpool, England, the son of Polish and Russian immigrants. During World War II, he served as a Petty Officer Radio Mechanic on HMS Collingwood and later was employed by Pye’s television studio equipment division. He eventually became a senior engineering manager for a Canadian company that maintained the country’s military Arctic listening stations.
In 2012, Mercer University’s Spencer B. King Jr. Center for Southern Studies created the Sidney Lanier Prize for Southern Literature, which was first awarded in 2013. The prize is named after a 19th-century Southern poet born in Macon who wrote “The Song of the Chattahoochee” and “The Marshes of Glynn.” It honors Middle Georgia’s rich literary heritage and the region’s long, often complicated tradition of writing about it. The selection committee for the prize includes Mercer University professors, eminent scholars of Southern literature and members of the Macon community. The winner of the prize will be announced in April. Previous winners have included Ernest Gaines and Lee Smith. In 2024, the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize was added to the list of prizes offered by the foundation.