Sidney Prize is an award given to those who have excelled in a particular field. Typically, the winner is required to write an essay or poem on a specific topic. These papers are then judged by a panel of experts. The winning essay or poem is usually published in a book and may also be presented at an awards ceremony. In some cases, the winning work is read aloud during a special event at the award ceremony.
Sidney prizes are often awarded for outstanding journalism that exposes social and economic injustices. One example is the Sidney Award, which is given each month to an outstanding piece of investigative journalism. Submissions are due by the last day of each month, and can be nominated for either an online article or a print magazine.
Other sidney prizes are awarded for academic achievements in specific fields. For instance, the Sidney Hook Memorial Award recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching and a major contribution to liberal arts education. The award is based on a nomination process conducted by the Society’s Triennial Council, with the call for nominations advertised in the Key Reporter and in the general newsletter. The winner is presented with a mesmeric swirl award designed and handmade in Sydney by Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy of Dinosaur Designs.
In addition to the Sidney Hook Prize, the Society also awards a number of literary prizes. These prizes are awarded to undergraduate students who submit written work on a specific subject. They are usually submitted under a pseudonym, and the work is judged by a panel of experts. Some of the prizes are based on a nomination process, while others are based on a contest.
A former Sidney student and Junior Research Fellow, Clare Jackson authored an acclaimed history of royalist ideas in late seventeenth-century Scotland that won one of the highest sidney prizes. The book, Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History, won a prize sponsored by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press in 2021. The prize was named after an alumnus who donated funds to support the scholarship.
The Sidney H. Ingbar Distinguished Lectureship Award honors researchers who have made major contributions to thyroid-related research. This award was established by contributions in memory of Dr. Ingbar, who died in 1993. The award carries an honorarium and a lectureship opportunity.
The Sidney Prize is awarded for outstanding articles based on dissertation research. This prize is offered by the Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) conference and is named in honor of one of the founding fathers of CCT. The winning article receives a $1500 prize and is published in an English-language journal that supports CCT. In addition, two honorable mentions are awarded ($1000 each). The prize is awarded each year in conjunction with the CCT annual conference luncheon. This competition is open to authors of a CCT-oriented dissertation article that has been published in the previous year.