The Sidney Prizes recognize outstanding long-form magazine essays. This year, many of the nominees probed the intersection of science and the humanities. Hilton Als, writing for The New York Times, and Ed Yong, writing for The Atlantic, both won prizes for their work arguing that, far from a threat to the humanities, contemporary scientific insights offer valuable tools for the humanities. Others, like Steven Pinker and Leon Wieseltier, went toe-to-toe in the pages of The New Republic over the proper role of science in modern thought — Yong taking the expansive view that science offers insight into nearly everything, while Pinker argued for a more restrained approach that allows the humanities to fill in the gaps in knowledge where it can’t.

Since 1950, the Hillman Foundation has honored journalism that illuminates the great issues of our time – from the search for a basis for peace to the need for better housing, medical care, employment security, and democracy; from the battle against discrimination based on race, nationality or religion to the fight for civil liberties, women’s rights, and environmental protection. The Hillman Foundation seeks to honor journalists who pursue investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good, whether they work for daily, periodical, or labor press; or through photojournalism, web and opinion and analysis.

This is the first year that the Foundation has also administered the SEIU Prize for Reporting on Racial and Economic Justice, and all Hillman Prize entries will be automatically considered for this award. The Hillman Prizes also continue to recognize excellence in print, digital and broadcast journalism that exposes social injustice and results in meaningful public policy change.

Overland is pleased to announce Annie Zhang, author of ‘Who Rattles the Night?’, as winner of the 2023 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize. The competition, which was supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation and named after Overland’s founder, sought excellent fiction inspired by travel – any narrative up to 3000 words loosely themed around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are encouraged. The judges, Laura Elvery, Paige Clark and Michael Winkler, selected a shortlist of eight pieces from over 400 submissions.

Overland’s Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is open to all, but subscribers receive an additional discount and are eligible to compete as potential prize winners (subscribe here). Submissions closed November 12th. For more information, including rules and guidelines, click here.