For over a decade, the Sydney Prize has been a cornerstone of the Festival’s commitment to celebrating and supporting world-class filmmaking. Winners are presented with the Festival’s mesmerising swirl award, designed and handmade by our partners Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy of Dinosaur Designs. Each year a diverse jury selects the winning works. The 2024 jury included Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini, Australian producer Sheila Jayadev and US director Tony Van Hoy.
The Sydney Prize encourages people to step back and look at the big picture. The essay should demonstrate that the author has understood and analyzed a particular subject in a way that is fresh, challenging, insightful and interesting to a wide audience. The essay should also offer solutions to problems in the field of study and make a contribution to human knowledge. The article should be based on original research and be published in the year prior to the competition.
In memory of Sidney Cox, this prize is awarded to that piece of undergraduate writing which most nearly meets those high standards of originality and integrity which were so characteristic of Professor Cox’s own work. This honour, deliberated upon by the faculty of the English Honors Program, is open to all students of any major and is awarded at the annual Creative Writing Awards ceremony each May.
Established in 2012, the Judith Wright Poetry Prize is offered annually for outstanding poetry written by an Australian citizen or resident. The winner of this prize is announced at a special event during the Sydney International Literary Festival, and the poem receives a cash prize, publication in Overland and a subscription to the magazine. The 2021 Judith Wright Poetry Prize was won by Ender Baskan for his poem ‘Are you ready?’
The Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is offered to writers whose work demonstrates exceptional skill and imagination in the construction of short fiction and the exploration of ideas of place. The story should be themed around the notion of ‘travel’ and imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are encouraged. The winning writer will be published in Overland and awarded a cash prize of $5000. Two runners-up will be published in Overland and receive a subscription.
The Sidney Hillman Prize in Journalism is awarded to investigative journalism that demonstrates journalistic excellence and storytelling skills in pursuit of social justice. The prize is open to journalists working globally, although the reporting should be intended for and accessible to a U.S. audience. The Prize is supported by the Hillman Foundation, a private grant-making organization, and administered by Roberts & Holland LLP, a New York City-based law firm. In addition to the cash prize, each recipient receives a bronze medallion.