The Sidney Prize honors scholars who have achieved national distinction in each of the three endeavors that comprise Phi Beta Kappa’s mission: scholarship, undergraduate teaching and leadership in the cause of liberal arts education. Winners are honored at the Society’s Triennial Council Meeting. Nominations are open to all members of the Society and may be made through the Triennial Council website.
The award is named in memory of Professor Sidney Thomas, who joined the faculty of Syracuse University in 1961 and devoted his life to humanistic scholarship in the fields of art history and classical studies. His distinguished scholarship in these fields, which he taught and encouraged in his students, produced two benchmark works: The Nature of Art (1964) and Images of Man: Selected Readings in Western Civilization (1972).
In addition to his distinguished scholarly writings, Professor Thomas was also active in the community. He worked with sister city programs, helped arrange student and faculty exchanges with Asian universities, facilitated museum exhibitions in partnership with local galleries, organized book clubs, children’s story hours, Asian film series and community lectures, and served on the boards of numerous cultural organizations and educational institutions.
Established in 2007 and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation, the Overland Neilma Sidney Short Fiction Prize seeks excellent short fiction (up to 3000 words) themed loosely around the notion of ‘travel’; imaginative, creative and literary interpretations are strongly encouraged. This year’s judges, Patrick Lenton, Alice Bishop and Sara Saleh, reviewed over 500 entries to select a shortlist of eight pieces. They chose a winning piece, and two runners-up, to be published in Overland’s autumn 2024 print edition.
AJL is not a publisher and cannot guarantee publication, but the competition has been a useful incentive for many writers with little prior publishing experience to attempt their hands at this genre of writing. Several of the manuscripts that have won the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award have subsequently been published, and those that do are eligible to carry on their covers the seal of the competition, which carries considerable prestige in the publishing world.
The call for submissions opens on November 12, 2024, and closes on January 15, 2025. Applicants should read the full guidelines and instructions before submitting. The submissions fee is $12 for AJL members and $20 for non-members. AJL members are eligible for discounted entry and a discount on the subscription price, which includes four printed issues of Overland as well as access to our daily online magazine. A special prize subscription is also available, which gives subscribers the opportunity to enter the competition at a reduced rate and receive invitations to subscriber events and opportunities.