The Sydney Prize is a monthly award for outstanding investigative journalism that exposes social and economic injustices. The winner and finalists are featured in the Sydney Magazine. The prize is named in honour of Sydney Myer, founder of the Myer family business empire and philanthropist. The Sydney prize is funded by the NSW state government and administered by the Australian Journalists’ Association.
The Association of Jewish Libraries has recognized quality Jewish literature for decades. In 1985, the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award was established to encourage aspiring authors of Judaic children’s fiction. The book should be appropriate for readers ages 8-12 and should exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience.
In 2007, the Taylor Book Award Committee created a new category of the prize, the Younger Readers and Older Readers categories. This allowed the committee to recognize more titles that aimed at a younger audience while still seeking the highest literary standards. The committee hoped that official recognition would inspire writers, encourage publishers, intrigue young readers, and build bridges to readers from other backgrounds.
This year, the prize celebrates its 2024 anniversary with the theme ‘Sydney: past, present and future’. The prize is open to submissions of up to 3000 words, themed loosely around the notion of travel. The winning entry will be published in Overland’s next print edition and the two runners-up will have their stories also appear in the magazine online.
To enter, please read the full competition guidelines and then submit your work using the form below. We will require your email address for confirmation of your submission and to communicate any changes in deadlines or other issues. You will also be asked whether your piece takes up the voice or experiences of a marginalised identity; this question is optional but is important for our judges to know, so that they can take this into account when considering your submission.
Announcing the 2024 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize Winner
Overland is pleased to announce that Rachel Ang is the winner of this year’s Neilma Sidney short story prize with her story ‘Thalassophobia’. Ang lives on unceded Wangal land and has previously been published in Island, Kill Your Darlings, and the Big Issue. She has been a WestWords Western Sydney Emerging Writer Fellow. Overland will publish her story ‘Who Rattles the Night?’ in its upcoming issue.
The Association of Jewish Libraries is proud to support the Sidney Hillman Prizes in the United States and Canada. The Hillman Prizes honour excellence in journalism in service to the common good and are named in memory of the late union leader Sidney Hillman. The call for entries for the 2025 U.S Hillman Prizes has now closed. Submissions are being screened through TurnItIn for academic integrity. To find out more about the prize, or to see a list of previous winners, click here.