Every year, a handful of writers win Sidney prizes. These honor some of the best long-form journalism that stands athwart technology, yelling stop. They show how the world’s most pressing problems can be addressed, by examining deeper human realities and telling stories that reach people. They expose injustices and inspire action. They’re the journalism we need more of in this era of short attention spans and ever-shrinking news cycles.
The 2024 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize – supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation and Overland magazine – seeks outstanding, original short fiction of up to 3000 words themed loosely around the notion of ‘travel’. The judges – Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh – reviewed over 500 entries and selected a shortlist, which will be published in Overland alongside two runners-up. First place receives $5000 and publication in Overland, while two runners-up will receive $750 each.
The Sidney Awards are named for the American philosopher who argued that we should strive to be true to our values and our best selves, even in times of crisis. The society also offers other awards to individuals and institutions that have demonstrated national distinction in scholarship, undergraduate teaching, or service to the history of technology community. These include the Sidney Hook Memorial Award, Melvin Kranzberg Dissertation Fellowship, Brooke Hindle Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the Sidney Edelstein Book Prize.
The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is pleased to announce that York University professor Edward Jones-Imhotep has won the 2018 Sidney Edelstein Prize — the field’s most prestigious book prize in the history of technology. Jones-Imhotep’s book, The Unreliable Nation: Hostile Nature and Technological Failure in Cold War Canada, is an examination of the ways that technological disasters defined nature and shaped Canadian national identity in the Cold War.
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Each month, the Hillman Foundation awards a Sidney to a piece of socially-conscious journalism that exposes economic injustices and the root causes of those injustices. The prize includes $500, a certificate designed by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Sorel, and a bottle of union-made wine. The winners are announced each spring at our national conference, the SHOT Congress.
For more information on the Sidney Hillman Prizes, visit the Hillman Foundation website.
To be considered for the Neilma Sidney Prize, you must be a current Overland subscriber or take out a new subscription. You can do this online or by calling us at 02 9371 8900. When submitting your entry, please ensure that you are answering all of the questions correctly. The judges will not be able to consider your submission if you haven’t answered all of the required questions. Also, if your entry takes up the voice or experience of a marginalised or vulnerable identity, you must identify yourself as being part of that community or experience.
