The Sydney Prize and the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards

The Sydney Prize is awarded monthly to an outstanding piece of journalism that appeared in the previous month. Writers can nominate their own work or someone else’s. The deadline for nominations is the last day of each month. The winner is announced on the second Wednesday of each month.

The purpose of this prize is to encourage deeper reflection and consideration by HLS students about their chosen profession and its role in society, as well as the many challenges that lawyers face in a rapidly changing world. Papers may be written in conjunction with a course or seminar, as part of a research project, or on an independent basis. They will be evaluated on the basis of their scholarship, originality and impact.

In 2024, Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award recognises an emerging creative working in short film with a cash prize of $7,000. Open to NSW-based filmmakers who have had no more than five short film credits.

This prestigious prize was established in honour of Sidney Myer, who loved Australian music and the performing arts. The awards were created to commemorate his life and celebrate outstanding achievements in dance, drama, comedy, music, opera and puppetry.

Established in memory of the late Dr. Sidney Cox, a distinguished teacher and author of Indirections for Those Who Want to Write, the prize is offered annually to that undergraduate writing which most nearly meets those high standards of originality and integrity which he set for himself and his students. This competition is open to all undergraduates in the humanities, social sciences and law who are writing in English. The work need not be solely in the field of English, but can include other subjects such as history, religion or economics.

If your entry takes up the voice or experience of a marginalised or vulnerable identity, do you identify as being a member of that community or experience? This is not a compulsory question, but it will help our judges consider your submission. This information will be kept confidential and is only visible to internal editors, unless we are asked to share it with our judges in advance of their consideration.

The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards were created to commemorate the life of the Australian businessman Sidney Myer and reward outstanding achievement in dance, drama, comedy, music, and opera. These prizes were decided upon by a panel of experts and were not just based on past achievement, but also considered the potential for future contribution to Australian culture.