The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were conceived in late 1995 to honor the best “genre” publications of
the year. The award takes its name from Murray Leinster’s 1934 short story “Sidewise in Time,” which explores a
world in which a strange storm allows people to travel between alternate worlds. The first Sidewise Awards were
announced in Summer 1996 at L.A.Con III. In 2026, the jury members for the award were Matt Mitrovich, Arturo
Serrano, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven Silver. Andrea Horbinski and Alana Phelan, who will join the panel to read for
the 2027 Sidewise Awards, were also involved in the selection of the Special Achievement Award.
Each year, two awards are given. The Best Long Form Award is presented to the best novel or complete series.
The Best Short Form Award is given to the best work under 60,000 words. In addition, at the discretion of the
judges, a Special Achievement Award may be presented for a significant body of work or a specific novel or story
which was published prior to the inception of the award. A complete list of past winners may be found at
http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/. This year’s awards were announced at LAcon V in Anaheim, California on
August 31priof to a panel discussion of Alternate History. Harry Turtledove presented the Special Achievement
award on August 30 due to a scheduling conflict.
2026 Sidewise Award for Best Long Form Alternate History
Vaishnavi Patel, Ten Incarnations of Rebellion
(Ballantine Books, 2025)
2026 Sidewise Award for Best Short Form Alternate History
Alan Smale, Caesar at Sea
(Skull X Bones, ZNB Books, 2025)
2026 Special Achievement Sidewise Award
Ronald D. Moore
For bringing alternate history to television through For All Mankind and Star City
For more information about the Sidewise Award, please see http://www.uchronia.net/sidewise/ or contact Steven
Silver at shsilver@sfsite.com or 847-363-1546.
Previous winners
2024
Sophie Burnham, Sargassa
L. Briar, “A Brother’s Oath”
2023
Francis Spufford, Cahokia Jazz
Rosemary Claire Smith, “Apollo in Retrograde”
2022
Laurent Binet, trans. by Sam Taylor, Civilizations
Alan Smale, “Gunpowder Treason”
2021
Adrian Tchaikovsky. The Doors of Eden
Matthew Kresal. “Moonshot”
2020
Annalee Newitz. The Future of Another Timeline
Harry Turtledove. “Christmas Truce”
2019
Mary Robinette Kowal. The Calculating Stars
Oscar (Xiu) Ramirez & Emmanuel Valtierra, Codex Valtierra
Special Award: Eric Flint
2018
Bryce Zabel. Once There Was a Way: What If the Beatles Stayed
Together?
Harry Turtledove. “Zigeuner”
2017
Ben Winters. Underground Airlines
Daniel Benson. “Treasure Fleet”
Adam Rovner. “What If a Jewish State Had Been Established in
East Africa”
2016
Julie Mayhew. The Big Lie
Bill Crider, “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore”
2015
Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The Enemy Within
Ken Liu. “The Long Haul: From the Annals of Transportation, The
Pacific Monthly, May 2009”
2014
D.J. Taylor. The Windsor Faction
Bryce Zabel. Surrounded by Enemies
Vylar Kaftan. “The Strength of the Sunrise “
2012
C. J. Sansom. Dominion
Rick Wilber. “Something Real”
2011
Ian R. MacLeod. Wake Up and Dream
Lisa Goldstein. “Paradise Is a Walled Garden”
2010
Eric Swedin. When Angels Wept
Alan Smale. “A Clash of Eagles”
2009
Robert Conroy. 1942
Alastair Reynolds. “The Fixation”
2008
Chris Roberson. The Dragons Nine Sons
Mary Rosenblum. “Sacrifice”
2007
Michael Chabon. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
Michael Flynn, “Quaestiones super Caelo et Mundo”
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, “Recovering Apollo 8”
2006
Charles Stross. The Family Trade, The Hidden Family & The Clan
Corporate
Gardner Dozois. “Counterfactual”
2005
Ian R. MacLeod. The Summer Isles
Lois Tilton. “Pericles the Tyrant”
2004
Philip Roth. The Plot Against America
Warren Ellis. The Ministry of Space
2003
Murray Davies. Collaborator
Chris Roberson. “O One”
2002
Martin J. Gidron. The Severed Wing
Harry Turtledove. Ruled Britannia
William Sanders. “Empire”
2001
J.N. Stroyar. The Children’s War
Ken MacLeod. The Human Front
2000
Mary Gentle. The Book of Ash
Ted Chiang. “Seventy-Two Letters”
1999
Brendan DuBois. Resurrection Day
Alain Bergeron, trans. by Howard Scott. “The Eighth Register”
Special Award: Randall Garrett for the Lord Darcy series
1998
Stephen Fry. Making History
Ian R. MacLeod. “The Summer Isles”
1997
Harry Turtledove. How Few Remain
William Sanders. “The Undiscovered”
Special Award: Robert J. Sobel for For Want of a Nail
1996
Stephen Baxter. Voyage
Walter Jon Williams. “Foreign Devils”
1995
Paul J. McAuley. Pasquale’s Angel
Stephen Baxter. “Britannia’s Angels”
Special Award: L. Sprague de Camp
