The University of Sydney literary prizes are some of the oldest in Australia. Established through bequests from prominent Sydney residents over 100 years ago, others reflect our mission to promote social justice through our literary prizes program.
The Sidney Prize for Distinguished Research in the History of Technology recognizes scholars for writing an outstanding book on technology history intended for general as well as specialist audiences. The prize is named in memory of Sir Sidney Edelstein, an early champion of his field and founding member of SHOT; each year at their annual meeting it is awarded.
Award for the best undergraduate art history paper written during an academic year. This award honors Professor Sidney Thomas, who joined the department in 1961 and championed humanistic scholarship within art history studies – editing two landmark publications including The Nature of Art and Images of Man: Selected Readings in Art History.
The Sydney Film Festival has long been known to honor distinguished awards with an unprecedented prize pool of $200,000. Ten such accolades were bestowed by independent juries at a glittering ceremony held at Sydney Opera House this year.
Claire Aman won both the Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize 2024 and its Overland counterpart in Overland magazine in 2025, placing second. A resident of Grafton in NSW-Bundjalung Country on Wangi and Gulaga land, her stories have appeared in Overland, Island and Southerly magazines; Bird Country made Steele Rudd and Colin Roderick awards shortlists; she directs community writing project The Long Way Home;
Our judges select a shortlist from submissions received across Australia for this award, with our winning writer receiving $5000 and having their story published in Overland magazine; runners-up each receive $750.
Hillman Foundation continues a legacy of trailblazing work begun by our namesake Murray Kempton with its annual Hillman Prize honoring journalists who engage in investigative reporting and deep storytelling in pursuit of social justice. From Murray Kempton’s reports on Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in 1950 to Edward R. Murrow’s critical coverage of Joseph McCarthy during Red Scare to Julie K. Brown’s reports of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes and sweetheart deals and Ari Berman’s report on voter suppression; each prize celebrates those who illuminate important issues present today and seeks to shed light upon them all at once.
The Hillman Prizes program will present their prize to journalists and their subjects globally at an awards ceremony held in April 2025, in New York City. Each winner receives a $5,000 honorarium and trophy, commemorating our namesake who believed that an independent press was essential for an equitable society. For more information please visit their website.