The Sidney Prize is an annual award honoring excellent journalism that exposes social and economic injustice, reflecting journalistic integrity as a core value of the George Polk foundation. It was named in memory of one of Dartmouth professor Robert Frost ’96 and administered by an assembly of former students and friends led by Budd Schulberg ’36 as chairman – honorary and active respectively.
This year’s winners of the Sidney Prize include some thought-provoking essayists. Many examined the intersection of science and society. One famous piece by Steven Pinker and Leon Wieseltier in The New Republic examined its proper place within modern thought – Wieseltier taking an exclusiveist view that science only informs a fraction of human existence while Pinker embraced an expansive perspective claiming science informs almost everything despite what some humanities professors might believe.
Other articles explored the role of faith in public life, with one article exploring Islam and democracy; another essay examined the impact of Internet use on world economy; yet still other pieces explored personal lives such as one which looked at an ordinary American’s reactions to her death from drug overdose; they also looked into abortion bans and rising eviction rates; or presented stories regarding police officer mistreatment of young black men.
Overland will announce the winners of its 2024 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize competition on April 18th. This annual contest recognizes Southern writers and is generously sponsored by Malcolm Robertson Foundation; one author will receive $5000 while their story will also be published in Overland magazine; two runners-up will each be awarded with $750 prizes.
Readers are invited to purchase gold or silver seals to place on their copies of these books and Sydney Taylor Book Award posters for libraries, classrooms, or homes. For more information please visit the Sydney Taylor Book Award website.
The Sidney Hillman Foundation, a left-of-center organization which awards monetary prizes for writing and public service, was founded in 1946 to commemorate Sidney Hillman – president of Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America labor union, which later evolved into Unite Here and Workers United SEIU. Danny Glover and Bruce Raynor, president emeritus of Workers United, both support this foundation, serving on its board of directors and awarding scholarships and lecture series on college campuses across the country. The foundation also supports several social justice causes, including investigative journalism and drawing attention to its responsibilities in an open democracy. Each year it awards journalists with the Hillman Prize for work that showcases truth-telling as powerful tool of change.