The Sydney Prize

Hillman Foundation awards its Sydney Prize monthly for outstanding journalism that sheds light on social and economic injustices, such as Jane Mayer’s coverage of Bush administration violations of international law, or Bill Moyers’ coverage of working people in America.

HLS students should use this prize as an incentive for greater reflection and consideration about the role their chosen profession plays in society, whether that means law firms, legal departments, professional service providers or lawyers and any other professional service providers delivering legal services; such as issues concerning management; gender diversity or diversity-related concerns; changes over time within their field or comparisons between lawyers and other service providers delivering legal services or any other topic related to providing legal services.

This prize is presented to the student whose essay most closely adheres to the standards of originality and integrity set by Sidney Cox for his students in his classes and book, Indirections for Those Who Want to Write. Any form of undergraduate writing in English that does not violate university policies on plagiarism or academic dishonesty may qualify, with an essay covering any topic as long as no university rules on plagiarism or academic dishonesty are violated – the winner receiving both a cash award of $500 plus a certificate for their efforts!

Established by Dr. Sidney Edelstein’s bequest in 1968, this esteemed annual award recognizes an exceptional scholarly book on the history of technology that was published within three years before receiving it as part of their award date. Prior to 1968 it was known as Sally Hacker Prize.

Winners receive an arresting swirl award designed and created in Sydney by Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy from Dinosaur Designs, presented during one of the Festival award ceremonies. Each winner also receives their copy of the book which won an award.

The Festival awards are presented by an esteemed panel of scholars. Winning books are listed on the Sydney Taylor Book Awards website, while reviews of them can be found in AJL’s mock award blog, The Sydney Taylor Shmooze.

Winners are invited to a special awards ceremony in June where they receive their medal and copy of their book as well as additional runner-up prizes.