The Sydney Prize is awarded monthly to an outstanding piece of journalism that exposes social and economic injustices. Nominations should be submitted by the last day of each month. The winner will be announced the following Wednesday.
The prize is named after English professor Sidney Cox, who had a knack for teaching students to express their feelings through words. The award was established in his memory by the faculty to honor their favorite honors theses or theses in creative writing and for the overall quality of the work. The prize is a $1,000 honorarium and a certificate designed by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Sorel.
In the age of soundbites and short attention spans, the prize seeks to promote longform writing and thought pieces. Recent selections include Hilton Als’ series on Haitian debt, Rose Arce’s series about her time held captive by the Taliban, and works from Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ed Yong.
To win the prize, students must self-enrol and submit their essay via Canvas, along with submitting a pen name here. All submissions are screened for Academic Integrity through TurnItIn before consideration. The competition is open to all current HLS students, including those enrolled in courses, clinics, seminars, or independent study projects. To be eligible for the prize, papers must be written during the current academic year and analyze a legal topic from an economic perspective. To view the specific deadlines and submission instructions for this award, visit the Irving Oberman Prize page.
Biodiversity is an important part of our natural world and it is under threat. To protect biodiversity, interdisciplinary approaches are needed to assess and manage threats and pressures. In this way we can make informed decisions about how best to conserve and protect biodiversity. The 2024 Sydney Taylor Biodiversity Book Award was selected for its interdisciplinary approach to the topic and the importance of integrating science with art, media, and literature.
The Edelstein Prize was established in 1968 through the generosity of the late Sidney Edelstein, noted expert on the history of dyes and dye processes, founder of a successful specialty chemical manufacturing firm, and 1988 recipient of SHOT’s Leonardo da Vinci Award. The prize is awarded annually in his honor for a distinguished book on the history of technology. The prize consists of $3500 and a plaque.
The Sydney Hillman Foundation was founded in 1946 in memory of labor leader and left-of-center political activist Sidney Hillman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America union. The Hillman Foundation offers a variety of monetary prizes to individuals who exhibit the same ideals that Hillman stood for. The organization has a board of directors that includes former leaders of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers, Unite Here, and Workers United, as well as actor Danny Glover. In addition, the foundation sponsors a scholarship in Hillman’s name.