The Sidney Prize and the Iwanter Prize

Sydney prize offers a wide variety of literary prizes for submissions in a range of written forms. The prizes are awarded to students, writers and scholars based on an application process and the production of written work. The written work can be a poem, play or essay on a selected topic. All submissions are required to be made under a nom de plume and must be the original work of the applicant. The prizes are offered by a number of universities and private organizations.

The Sidney Hillman Foundation was established in 1946 in memory of the former president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America union, a predecessor to the Unite Here and Workers United-led SEIU. The foundation’s founder was deeply concerned with the responsibilities of a free press, and the Hillman Prize program honors journalists who report stories that illuminate the great issues of our time: the search for a basis for lasting peace; the need for housing, medical care, and employment security for all; the promotion of civil liberties and democracy; and the battle against discrimination based on race, nationality or religion.

In addition to the Hillman prizes, the foundation awards two monthly Sidney Awards for investigative journalism and deep storytelling in service of the common good. The foundation also awards the prestigious George Polk Prize of $25,000 to reporters or columns in a newspaper who produce distinguished long-form coverage of local, state or federal government corruption; military injustice; war crimes and genocide; or authoritarian government abuses.

A new book by historian Elizabeth Hirshfield, Sidney: Portrait of a City, is a history of the borough of Sydney in Australia. It covers the period from its founding in 1838 through to the present day and is a rich source of social and cultural history. It is the first comprehensive study of Sydney to be published in the English language.

Other Sydney Prizes

The Iwanter Prize was created in 2000 through a gift from alumnus Sidney E. Iwanter (B.A. ’71, History), who wanted to perpetuate in some small way the spirit of intellectual curiosity that he felt in his own undergraduate years and that was so infectious among his students. Iwanter’s own sense of curiosity led him to secretly record (bootlegged) lectures by his professor Harvey Goldberg, which he later donated to UW-Madison and are available through the Harvey Goldberg Center.

The Eureka Prizes are presented by the Australian Museum in partnership with some of Australia’s leading scientific institutions. The aim is to highlight the remarkable discoveries that make our world so fascinating and that benefit humanity in some way. For example, the melanoma project utilises cutting-edge AI and 3D imaging technologies to build the world’s largest preventive melanoma screening program. Read about this and other projects here.