The Sidney Prize – A Look at the Work of Three Writers

The Sidney Prize is an undergraduate writing award established to recognize outstanding student writing. Named in honour of philosopher Sidney Hook’s achievements as a scholar and leader for liberal arts education, this prize recognizes writing that exhibits original thought with high standards of integrity.

This prize is administered by a committee of Dartmouth members who, each year, select the manuscript that best exemplifies those high standards. They hope that by doing this they may perpetuate some small measure the generative influence which late Professor Sidney Cox had over many students both inside and outside his classes.

This year, three writers won Sidney prizes for their work in politics, religion and journalism. Here’s a look back at their accomplishments and what we can take away from their work.

Over the spring, AJL’s editorial staff worked diligently to sort through all the submissions received and publish only those which stood out as exceptional pieces. Out of those stories selected for publication were six news/opinion pieces that we particularly enjoyed reading; we hope you do as well!

Sidney Prize: Shame Storm by Helen Andrews of First Things Our 2018 Sidney Prize will go to an article that shines light on one aspect of online animus: this piece explores how one writer who took part in a panel discussing conservative ideology with her ex-partner was subjected to an unprecedented series of vicious personal attacks following that appearance.

Robyn Liu is the recipient of the 2023 Event Cinemas Rising Talent Prize – an acclaimed Sydney actor and writer with credits across film, television and theatre. This prize is open to NSW-based emerging creatives working in short film that can demonstrate that their work stands for innovation, imagination and impact.

The 2023 Sidney Prize has honored an emerging generation of filmmakers as part of Sydney UNESCO City of Film initiative. This prestigious prize recognizes trailblazing NSW-based practitioners whose work can have global repercussions, with an attractive cash prize of $10,000 included as an incentive. It provides an invaluable chance for professionals looking to expand their profile within their field.

The Iwanter Prize is an unrestricted $2,000 award presented annually to graduating senior who exemplify outstanding humanities-based scholarship of an interdisciplinary nature in their senior thesis and overall academic achievements. This prize was made possible thanks to a gift to the UW Foundation by Sidney E. Iwanter (BA History 1971).