In memory of Sidney Cox, Professor of English at Dartmouth from 1927 to 1952, a fund has been established for the purpose of annually awarding a prize to that piece of undergraduate writing which most nearly meets his high standards both of originality and integrity. The Committee – if such a word may be used in connection with the prize – shall consist of his former students and friends; it is charged with the responsibility of administering this competition. The prize money is provided by subscriptions, and additional appropriations from gifts and bequests.

The prize is to be awarded in early spring; a single manuscript will be judged by one member of the Committee at Hanover and its results published as soon as possible. Arrangements will be made for the winner to present his work at a meeting of the Committee in Hanover, and for appropriate publicity to be given.

Sidney Prize

The Sydney Peace Prize honors a nominee who has promoted “peace with justice, human rights and non-violence”. The award was launched in 1946 by the Hillman Foundation (initially called the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America). The foundation is led by left-leaning union leader Bruce Raynor, president emeritus of Workers United, SEIU. The organization makes yearly grants of tens of thousands of dollars to promote a variety of activities, from the search for a lasting basis of world peace to a better understanding of our history and heritage, and from the fight for social justice and civil liberties to the struggle for economic equality.

This year, the prize will be awarded to Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi — three leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement who were arrested in November while protesting the killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida. This is the first time a human rights group has received the Sydney Peace Prize, which is presented to those who have shown courage in the face of injustice.

Annie Zhang ’20 has won the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize for her story ‘Who Rattles the Night?’, a tale about ghosts and family. Zhang lives on unceded Wangal land in western Sydney and was a WestWords Western Sydney Emerging Writer Fellow in 2019. The story will be published in Overland, and two runners-up will also have their stories published online. The prize has a $5000 first prize, with the two runners-up receiving $750 each. The judging panel was Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh. The full shortlist can be read here.