The Sidney Prize is awarded each month to an outstanding article published in a journal, magazine or website. The article must address a nominated question and be original. Nominations may be made by individuals or organizations and are due on the last day of each month. The committee reserves the right to split the prize if it believes that two or more articles are of equal merit. The winner receives a $500 honorarium, and a certificate designed by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Sorel.

This year the 2024 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize was won by Rachel Ang for her story ‘Thalassophobia.’ This was the first time that the prize has been awarded to a non-Australian writer, and it is a testament to the quality of the entries this year. The prize is supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation and Overland, and it aims to support moving and powerful short fiction themed loosely around the notion of ‘travel’. The winner will be published in Overland, and the two runners-up will each be awarded $750.

The prize is named after the 19th century Southern poet Sidney Lanier, who praised Middle Georgia’s rich literary heritage and long tradition of writing about the region. It is a significant award in the field of Southern studies, and it has helped launch the careers of many prominent writers, including Elizabeth Spencer, Ernest Gaines and Lee Smith. It has also brought prestige to the published works of those who have won it, and books that have been awarded the prize prior to publication can carry a seal bearing Lanier’s name.

In addition to the prize, the scholarship program has two student awards: the Sidney DeVere Brown Prize and the Mikiso Hane Prize. Both prizes are awarded to undergraduate students for papers that show the highest standards of quality and integrity. Undergraduates of any major are eligible to submit their work, and the papers are reviewed by scholars in the field. The winning papers are then published in the Wittenberg East Asian Studies Journal.

The Hillman Foundation is a left-of-center organization that annually awards monetary prizes for journalism and public service. It is named after the late president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACTWA) labor union, which was the forbearer of Unite Here and Workers United, SEIU. Its leadership includes Workers United president emeritus Bruce Raynor and the actor Danny Glover. The foundation’s board of directors consists primarily of members of the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America. The foundation has also funded the National Writers’ Union and several other publications, such as Z Magazine. The Foundation has also awarded the Sidney Hillman Prize for journalism to a number of people. The Foundation’s prize program is one of the most prestigious in the country.