The Sidney Hillman Prize
Every year I give out a number of Sidney prizes for magazine articles that have both narrative drive and social impact. The first rule is that they cannot be published in the New York Times, which means that David Rohde’s unforgettable series on his time as a hostage of the Taliban doesn’t get a prize, even though it contains the very virtues that a Sidney prize seeks to honor. But there are many other pieces that would get Sidneys in a less arbitrary world: Arts and Letters Daily is a clearinghouse of high-toned linkage; The Browser, with its excellent eye for the intriguing and the profound; Book Forum, which covers books of depth and resonance.
I also like to award Sidneys to pieces that expose social injustice. Reporters Maya Srikrishnan and Ashley Clarke spent more than a year investigating how states treat low-income taxpayers, interviewing lawyers and experts at taxpayer clinics across the country to learn how each state collects its income tax, what options it offers in hardship cases and how its policies differ from one another. They were dogged in their pursuit of the story, battling recalcitrant governments and finding fresh angles to tell an important, under-reported story.
But there are also the thornier stories, the ones that expose a systemic wrong and demand changes to make it right. That’s where the journalism I prize most is most difficult to do, but where it can have the greatest effect on the lives of people and the way in which we live together. It’s a difficult balance, and one that requires the courage to speak out and take risks.
The Sidney Hillman Foundation is a left-of-center organization that awards monetary prizes for journalism and public service. It was founded in 1946 in honor of the late president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America labor union, a predecessor of Unite Here and Workers United (now SEIU). The foundation’s leadership includes former Amalgamated Clothing Workers president emeritus Bruce Raynor and actor Danny Glover.
The Brooke Hindle Postdoctoral Fellowship: Awarded annually to a graduate student to help support a research project in the history of technology. The Sidney Edelstein Prize: Awarded to a scholar for an outstanding book on the history of technology intended for general readers as well as specialists. The Abbot Payson Usher Prize: Awarded to a student or early career scholar who presents a paper at the SHOT annual meeting for the first time. The Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize 2024: The Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is awarded each year for an original piece of short fiction up to 3000 words themed loosely around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. The prize is supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. To enter, writers must take out a new Overland subscription for one year at the special subscriber rate before the submission deadline of 31 March. Full rules and submission details are available here.