The Sidney Prize and the Hillman Prize
The Sidney Prize is awarded monthly to an outstanding piece of socially conscious journalism. The prize is sponsored by the Sidney Hillman Foundation, which also sponsors the annual Hillman Prizes each spring. The winner receives $500 and a certificate designed by New Yorker cartoonist Edward Sorel. Nominations can be submitted here.
The Animal Law and Policy Program awards, annually, up to two prizes for papers written by Harvard Law students in the area of animal law and policy (including environmental law, food law, or international law as it relates to animals). Papers must be written in conjunction with an HLS course, seminar, clinic, or independent study project at any level. The paper may address any topic of relevance, including but not limited to: animal rights and welfare, the role of lawyers in society, changing trends in the legal profession, comparisons between lawyers and other professional service providers, or the impact of globalization on the practice of law.
In the era of short attention spans and tweets, long-form writing is in danger of being forgotten. Yet there is still a place for intelligent, thoughtful analysis that delves into the complexity of issues that affect us all. And the good news is, there are plenty of examples of such work out there.
From the essays of Hilton Als and Ed Yong, to the journalism of the New York Times, there is no shortage of long-form work that tackles complex topics. This year, David Brooks highlighted several of these pieces in his column on the “Sidney Awards,” a list of his favorite long-form essays of the year.
Molecular biologist Sidney Altman shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery that RNA, which had been known to carry genetic codes between parts of cells, could also actively aid in chemical reactions—a function previously thought to be exclusively the province of proteins. His discovery revolutionized cell biology and opened up numerous new fields of research.
The prize is awarded annually to the best article written by an HLS student in the area of tax law, including but not limited to federal, state and local taxes, the estate tax, trusts and estate planning, and the effect of recent legislative and judicial changes on taxation. The prize is supported by the Boston-based firm Roberts & Holland LLP.
The prize is funded by the bequest of Isabel B. Oberman, the wife of Irving E. Oberman, a member of SHOT’s Board of Trustees. It is given to a student whose dissertation research makes an important contribution to the field of history of science and technology, especially with regard to the history of dyes and dye processes. The winning essay is published in the SHOT journal Technology and Culture. The winner and runner-up are announced in the fall issue of the magazine and on the website. The essay is chosen by a panel of judges that includes scholars, writers and artists.