The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

stories and novels of the year.

Overview

The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "

Sidewise in Time "Sidewise in Time" is a science fiction short story by American writer Murray Leinster that was first published in the June 1934 issue of ''Astounding Stories''. "Sidewise in Time" served as the title story for Leinster's second story collection ...

" by

Murray Leinster Murray Leinster (June 16, 1896 – June 8, 1975) was a pen name of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an American writer of genre fiction, particularly of science fiction. He wrote and published more than 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie ...

, in which a strange storm causes portions of Earth to swap places with their analogs from other timelines. The awards were created by Steven H. Silver, Evelyn C. Leeper, and Robert B. Schmunk. Over the years, the number of judges has fluctuated between three and eight and have included judges in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Two awards are normally presented each year, usually at

WorldCon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during ...

or at NASFiC. The Short-Form award is presented to a work under 60,000 words in length. The Long-Form award is presented to a work or works longer than 60,000 words, which may include a single novel or a multi-volume series. The judges have four times also recognized an individual with a Special Achievement Award in recognition for works published prior to the award's inception or for other contributions to the genre.

Award winners

Long Form

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

–

Paul J. McAuley Paul J. McAuley (born 23 April 1955) is a British botanist and science fiction author. A biologist by training, McAuley writes mostly hard science fiction. His novels dealing with themes such as biotechnology, alternative history/alternative re ...

, ''Pasquale's Angel'' : 1996 – Stephen Baxter, ''

Voyage Voyage(s) or The Voyage may refer to: Literature *''Voyage : A Novel of 1896'', Sterling Hayden * ''Voyage'' (novel), a 1996 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter *''The Voyage'', Murray Bail * "The Voyage" (short story), a 1921 story by ...

'' :

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

–

Harry Turtledove Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery fiction. He is a student of history and completed ...

, ''

How Few Remain ''How Few Remain'' is a 1997 alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove. It is the first part of the Southern Victory saga, which depicts a world in which the Confederate States of America won the American Civil War. It is similar to his earlier ...

'' : 1998 –

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, '' Making History'' : 1999 – Brendan DuBois, '' Resurrection Day'' :

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

–

Mary Gentle Mary Rosalyn Gentle (born 29 March 1956) is a UK science fiction and fantasy author. Literary career Mary Gentle's first published novel was ''Hawk in Silver'' (1977), a young-adult fantasy. She came to prominence with the '' Orthe'' duology, w ...

, '' Ash: A Secret History'' : 2001 – J. N. Stroyar, ''

The Children's War ''The Children's War'' is a 2001 alternate history novel by J.N. Stroyar. It was followed by the sequels ''A Change of Regime'' and ''Becoming Them''. The book was the long form winner of the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in 2001. Backg ...

'' :

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

– ''(tie)'': Martin J. Gidron (name since changed to Martin Berman-Gorvine), ''The Severed Wing'' &

, ''

Ruled Britannia ''Ruled Britannia'' is an alternate history novel by Harry Turtledove, first published in hardcover by New American Library in 2002. The book is set in the years 1597–1598, in an alternate universe where the Spanish Armada is successful in 158 ...

'' : 2003 – Murray Davies, '' Collaborator'' : 2004 –

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

, ''

The Plot Against America ''The Plot Against America'' is a novel by Philip Roth published in 2004. It is an alternative history in which Franklin D. Roosevelt is defeated in the presidential election of 1940 by Charles Lindbergh. The novel follows the fortunes of the R ...

'' :

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

– Ian R. MacLeod, ''The Summer Isles'' :

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

–

Charles Stross Charles David George "Charlie" Stross (born 18 October 1964) is a British writer of science fiction and fantasy. Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. Between 1994 and 2004, he was also an active writer for the magazine '' ...

, ''

The Family Trade ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'', '' The Hidden Family'', and '' The Clan Corporate'' : 2007 –

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...

, ''

The Yiddish Policemen's Union ''The Yiddish Policemen's Union'' is a 2007 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The novel is a detective story set in an alternative history version of the present day, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement f ...

'' : 2008 – Chris Roberson, ''The Dragon's Nine Sons'' : 2009 –

Robert Conroy Joseph Robert Conroy (August 24, 1938 – December 30, 2014) was an author of alternate history novels. Life After he got an MBA, Conroy was a professor at Macomb Community College and taught business and economic history. Following his early ...

, '' 1942'' :

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

– Eric G. Swedin, ''When Angels Wept: A What-If History of the Cuban Missile Crisis'' :

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

– Ian R. MacLeod, '' Wake Up and Dream'' :

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

– C. J. Sansom, ''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

'' :

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

– (tie)

D. J. Taylor David John Taylor (born 1960) is a British critic, novelist and biographer. After attending school in Norwich, he read Modern History at St John's College, Oxford, and has received the 2003 Whitbread Biography Award for his biography of Geo ...

, ''The Windsor Faction'' &

Bryce Zabel Bryce H. Zabel (born May 17, 1954) is an American television producer, director, writer, and occasional actor. With hundreds of hours of produced film and television credits, Zabel has scripted a trio of mini-series which aired in the U.S. market ...

, ''Surrounded by Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas?'' : 2014 –

Kristine Kathryn Rusch Kristine Kathryn Rusch (born June 4, 1960) is an American writer and editor. She writes under various pseudonyms in multiple genres, including science fiction, fantasy literature, fantasy, Mystery fiction, mystery, Romance novel, romance, and m ...

, ''The Enemy Within'' :

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

–

Julie Mayhew Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

, ''The Big Lie'' :

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

–

Ben H. Winters Benjamin Allen H. "Ben" Winters (born 1976) is an American author. Early life and education Winters was born in Maryland. In high school, he played in the punk band Corm, alongside John Davis, now of Title Tracks. In 1998, he graduated from Wash ...

, ''

Underground Airlines ''Underground Airlines'' is a 2016 novel by Ben Winters which is set in a contemporary alternate-history United States where the American Civil War never occurred because Abraham Lincoln was assassinated prior to his 1861 inauguration and a ...

'' : 2017 –

, ''

Once There Was a Way ''Once There Was a Way'' is a 2017 alternative history novel by Bryce Zabel. It speculates what would have happened if the rock band, The Beatles, had stayed united for years after the date of their actual dissolution and disbanded years later o ...

'' : 2018 –

Mary Robinette Kowal Mary Robinette Kowal (; born February 8, 1969) is an American author and puppeteer. Originally a puppeteer by primary trade after receiving a bachelor's degree in art education, she became art director for science fiction magazines and by 2010 was ...

, ''

The Calculating Stars ''The Calculating Stars'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Mary Robinette Kowal. The book was published by Tor Books on July 3, 2018. It is the first book in the " Lady Astronaut" series and is a prequel to the 2012 short story " Th ...

'' : 2019 –

Annalee Newitz Annalee Newitz (born May 7, 1969) is an American journalist, editor, and author of both fiction and nonfiction, who has written for the periodicals ''Popular Science'' and ''Wired''. From 1999 to 2008 Newitz wrote a syndicated weekly column call ...

, ''

The Future of Another Timeline ''The Future of Another Timeline'' is a 2019 science-fiction novel by Annalee Newitz. The feminist time-travel adventure follows Tess, a professional time traveler, geoscientist, and secretly a member of the Daughters of Harriet (Tubman), who are ...

'' :

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

– Adrian Tchaikovsky, ''The Doors of Eden'' :

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

–

Laurent Binet Laurent Binet (born 19 July 1972) is a French writer and university lecturer. His work focuses on the modern political scene in France. Biography The son of a historian,Valérie Trierweiler, October 18, 2010"Laurent Binet, retour sur un succès" ...

, ''Civilizations'' (translated by Sam Taylor)

Short Form

– Stephen Baxter, "Brigantia's Angels" : 1996 –

Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...

, "Foreign Devils" (in '' War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches'') :

– William Sanders, " The Undiscovered" : 1998 – Ian R. MacLeod, ''The Summer Isles'' : 1999 – Alain Bergeron, "The Eighth Register" (translated by

Howard Scott Howard Scott (April 1, 1890 – January 1, 1970) was an American engineer and founder of the Technocracy movement. He formed the Technical Alliance and Technocracy Incorporated. Early life Little is known about Scott's background or his early ...

) :

–

Ted Chiang Ted Chiang (born 1967) is an American science fiction writer. His work has won four Nebula awards, four Hugo awards, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and six Locus awards. His short story "Story of Your Life" was the basis of the ...

, "

Seventy-Two Letters “Seventy-Two Letters” is a science fiction novella by American writer Ted Chiang, published in June 2000 in the Ellen Datlow's anthology ''Vanishing Acts''. The novella can also be found in the anthologies ''Year's Best SF 6'' (2001), edited ...

" : 2001 –

Ken MacLeod Kenneth Macrae MacLeod (born 2 August 1954) is a Scottish science fiction writer. His novels ''The Sky Road'' and ''The Night Sessions'' won the BSFA Award. MacLeod's novels have been nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo, Nebula, Locus, an ...

, ''The Human Front'' :

– William Sanders, "Empire" : 2003 – Chris Roberson, "O One" : 2004 –

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

, '' The Ministry of Space'' :

–

Lois Tilton Lois Tilton is a science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and horror writer. She won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History in the short form category for her story "Pericles the Tyrant" in 2006. In 2005, her story, "The Gladiator's War" w ...

, "Pericles the Tyrant" :

–

Gardner Dozois Gardner Raymond Dozois ( ; July 23, 1947 – May 27, 2018) was an American science fiction author and editor. He was the founding editor of ''The Year's Best Science Fiction'' anthologies (1984–2018) and was editor of '' Asimov's Science Fictio ...

, "Counterfactual" : 2007 – ''(tie)'':

Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...

, "Quaestiones Super Caelo Et Mundo" &

, "Recovering Apollo 8" : 2008 –

Mary Rosenblum Mary Rosenblum (born Mary Freeman; June 27, 1952 – March 11, 2018) was an American science fiction and mystery author. Biography Rosenblum was born in Levittown, New York and grew up in Allison Park, Pennsylvania. She earned a biology de ...

, "Sacrifice" : 2009 –

Alastair Reynolds Alastair Preston Reynolds (born 13 March 1966) is a Welsh science fiction author. He specialises in hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle University, where he s ...

, "The Fixation" :

–

Alan Smale Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *Al ...

, "A Clash of Eagles" :

–

Lisa Goldstein Lisa Goldstein (born Elizabeth Joy Goldstein on November 21, 1953) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer whose work has been nominated for Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy Awards. Her 1982 novel '' The Red Magician'' won a Nation ...

, "Paradise Is a Walled Garden" :

– Rick Wilber, "Something Real"' :

–

Vylar Kaftan Vylar Kaftan is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. A Clarion West Workshop graduate, she lives on the U.S. West Coast. Kaftan's short story "Civilisation" is included in Farah Mendlesohn's anthology '' Glorifying Terrorism'', and ...

, " The Weight of the Sunrise" : 2014 –

Ken Liu Ken Liu (born 1976) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. His epic fantasy series ''The Dandelion Dynasty'', which he describes as silkpunk, is published by Simon & Schuster. Liu has won Hugo and Nebula Awards for his short fic ...

, "The Long Haul: From the Annals of Transportation, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009" :

–

Bill Crider Bill Crider (July 28, 1941 – February 12, 2018) was an American author of crime fiction among other work. Biography He received a Master of Arts degree at the University of North Texas, in Denton. Later, he taught English at Howard Payne Unive ...

, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" :

– ''(tie)'': Daniel M. Bensen, "Treasure Fleet" & Adam Rovner, "What If the Jewish State Had Been Established in East Africa" : 2017 –

, " Zigeuner" : 2018 – Oscar (Xiu) Ramirez and Emmanuel Valtierra, ''Codex Valtierra'' : 2019 –

, "Christmas Truce" :

– Matthew Kresal, "Moonshot" :

–

, "Gunpowder Treason"

Special Achievement

–

L. Sprague de Camp Lyon Sprague de Camp (; November 27, 1907 – November 6, 2000) was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. In a career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and works of non-fiction, including biog ...

, lifetime achievement :

– Robert Sobel, '' For Want of a Nail'' : 1999 –

Randall Garrett Gordon Randall Phillip David GarrettGarrett, Randall
in ''

Lord Darcy series : 2018 –

Eric Flint Eric Flint (February 6, 1947 – July 17, 2022) was an American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works are Alternate history (fiction), alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures. ...

, for support of writers in the alternative history genre, most notably via the 1632 series

References

External links

The Sidewise Award website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidewise Award For Alternate History Alternate history Alternate history fandom Awards established in 1995 Science fiction awards * *