The Sydney Prize is an annual award honoring journalists who undertake investigative reporting and deep storytelling for the greater good of society. The winner receives a $5,000 honorarium, while their story will also appear in Overland magazine’s Autumn Issue as well as online. In addition, all three finalists may qualify for a Malcolm Robertson Foundation prize worth $750 each.

The Society for the History of Technology recently awarded York University professor Edward Jones-Imhotep with its 2018 Sydney Edelstein Prize – only the second faculty member from a Canadian institution ever! Jones-Imhotep is an historian of science and technology with particular expertise in global history and technological change, teaching HIST 1777: Disasters and History at his department.

Although all students may qualify for scholarships and prizes at university, Trent History students in particular are recognized with special prizes that go beyond general university recognition: Here are a few prizes offered exclusively to History students:

Elizabeth Spencer from Mercer University was honored with the 2024 Lanier Prize for short fiction from Sydney Film Festival, receiving a grant of $10,000 to further her writing efforts as an author. Awards at Sydney Film Festival are judged by an international jury of film and television industry professionals; additionally, Event Cinemas Rising Talent Award honours an innovative New South Welsh creator working in short film with a cash prize of $7,000.

Playwrights’ Company established the Sidney Howard Memorial Prize to honor budding playwrights who had struggled on Broadway but showed potential. Robert Ardrey won this inaugural prize, later going on to write Thunder Rock which went on to become an international classic. However, its existence was discontinued with Howard’s death in 1939.

The Overland Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is an open competition open to writers at all stages of their career, hosted by Overland magazine in Australia and supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation. The winning entry will be published in Overland’s 2024 autumn issue with a $5,000 AUD honorarium being given out as well as two runners-up who each receive $750 AUD honoraria.

The Roberts & Holland Private Law Scholarship awards an undergraduate or graduate student who demonstrates financial need and has written an essay about the history and institution of law and legal institutions. Established to commemorate late Roberts & Holland partner and Tax Law Group leader James W. Roberts (deceased), and made possible by generous gift from Roberts & Holland itself, this prize carries an annual value of $5,000 with applications being accepted until May 1, 2025 – click here for more details about this prize and to apply!