Prizes are awarded for a wide variety of literary genres including poetry, plays and short stories as well as essay and book reviews. They are often sponsored by private philanthropists, academic institutions and unions and are presented by independent judges. The entrants must be prepared to provide written proof of their eligibility. Most prizes require a submission of original work on a particular topic. The winning works are published and exhibited. Most have long histories going back to bequests received in the early part of the twentieth century.
The Sidney prize is named for a Baltimore businessman who devoted his time and resources to advocating for equal rights for African Americans. The award honors individuals who are advancing social change in the United States. The program was established in memory of Sidney Hollander, who died in 1971.
In 2024 the judges of the Neilma Sidney Prize were Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh. First place winner receives $5000 in prize money and two runners-up receive $750 each. The winning story will be published in Overland’s autumn edition, with the runners-up online. The judges will also choose a ‘shortlist’ of eight stories, and publish them in an online supplement to the autumn issue.
The prestigious annual Hillman Prize has been awarded since 1950 to “journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice through investigative reporting and deep storytelling.” Past winners include Jane Mayer for her report on Dick Cheney’s war crimes; Bill Moyers and Kathleen Hughes for their Journal broadcast on the Iraq War; Spike Lee and Sam Pollard for their movie about Hurricane Katrina; and Jose Antonio Vargas for his New York Times article on being undocumented.
Each year the Program on Law and Society in the Muslim World awards up to two prizes to Harvard Law students who write the best papers on a subject related to law and society or law and social change in a Muslim majority or minority context. Papers must be written during the current academic year in conjunction with a course, seminar, clinic, or independent study project at Harvard Law School.
In 2022 the committee of judges was Richard Ho, Lynn Scurfield and Rebecca Levitan. The judges were impressed by the warmth and sensitivity with which these authors captured a Jewish family’s journey as they celebrated not one but two new years: Rosh Hashanah in fall, and Lunar New Year in early spring. The warm illustrations are also reminiscent of traditional paper cutting traditions in both cultures, adding to the thoughtfulness of this heartwarming book.
For more information on this and other Sydney Taylor Book Award winners, including reviews and interviews with the winning authors, please visit AJL’s mock award blog, The Sydney Taylor Shmooze. You can also buy STBA seals for your own copies of these books on our shop page. For more information on the 2024 Sydney Taylor Book Award, click here.