The Sydney Prize, awarded by the Sydney Peace Foundation, honours global voices that promote “peace with justice and nonviolence.” Past Laureates include Julian Burnside, Noam Chomsky, Mary Robinson and Black Lives Matter Global Network founders Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi. The Prize is named after Sir Sidney Altman, who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on ribonuclease-P. It was the first time that scientists were able to isolate a protein-only enzyme. Altman’s research undercut the long-held dogma that molecules could either carry information, like RNA, or catalyze chemical reactions, like proteins, but not both.
In the world of journalism, The New York Times columnist David Brooks annually announces his “Sidney Awards,” a roundup of pieces that he thinks are the year’s best long-form essays. His 2020 selections included Hilton Als writing for The New Yorker and Ed Yong writing for The Atlantic.
Phi Beta Kappa’s Sidney Hook Memorial Award honors national distinction in scholarship and undergraduate teaching, as well as leadership in the cause of liberal arts education. The Society’s National Committee selects the recipient of this award at its Triennial Council meeting and formally recognizes him or her at that event.
During his lifetime, Sidney Hook had a significant impact on the philosophy of liberalism. He argued for the importance of academic freedom and the defense of high ideals in education, as well as being an early advocate of the rights of the mentally disabled.
In addition to the major prize categories, The New York Times also offers a monthly Sidney Award for outstanding journalism that appears in the prior month. Nominations may be made for either print or online journalism, and must be received by the last day of each month. Online nominations must be dated according to when the piece appeared on the website rather than the date that it was originally published in the magazine.
This month, Overland’s Annie Zhang won the Sidney for her story “Who Rattles the Night?” about a couple moving into their dream home on unceded Wangal land and learning to live with ghosts. The winner is crowned on the second Wednesday of each month and receives an honorarium of $500 and a certificate designed by Edward Sorel.
The New York Times also has a regular feature called the ‘Sidneys,’ in which editors pick some of the year’s best long-form journalism. Last week, they picked a remarkable essay by Helen Andrews in First Things about her experience on a panel about conservatism with an ex-boyfriend who went off on a vicious rant against her.
In a similar vein, the Weekly Standard recently ran an essay by its own Peter Wood on the long-term harms of the hook-up culture. This essay, which also won the 2015 Sidney Award, was a brilliant look at an issue that is all too relevant to our current political climate. Read it here. You’ll be glad you did.