The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternative history stories and novels of the year.
The awards take their name from the 1934 short story "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, 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, including judges in the UK and South Africa.
Each year, two awards are presented, usually at the World Science Fiction Convention. The Short-Form award is presented to a work under 60,000 words in length. The Long-Form award may be presented to a work longer than 60,000 words, including both novels and complete series. At their discretion, the judges may also elect to recognize an individual or work with a Special Achievement Award in recognition of works that were published prior to the award's inception.
1995 –
Paul J. McAuley,
Pasquale's Angel1996 –
Stephen Baxter,
Voyage1997 –
Harry Turtledove,
How Few Remain1998 –
Stephen Fry,
Making History1999 –
Brendan DuBois,
Resurrection Day2000 –
Mary Gentle,
Ash: A Secret History2001 – J. N. Stroyar,
The Children's War2002 –
(tie): Martin J. Gidron (name since changed to Martin Berman-Gorvine),
The Severed Wing &
Harry Turtledove,
Ruled Britannia2003 –
Murray Davies,
Collaborator2004 –
Philip Roth,
The Plot Against America2005 –
Ian R. MacLeod,
The Summer Isles2006 –
Charles Stross,
The Family Trade,
The Hidden Family, and
The Clan Corporate2007 –
Michael Chabon,
The Yiddish Policemen's Union2008 –
Chris Roberson,
The Dragon's Nine Sons2009 –
Robert Conroy,
19422010 –
Eric G. Swedin,
When Angels Wept: A What-If History of the Cuban Missile Crisis2011 – Ian R. MacLeod,
Wake Up and Dream2012 – C. J. Sansom,
Dominion2013 – (tie) D.J. Taylor,
The Windsor Faction &
Bryce Zabel,
Surrounded by Enemies: What If Kennedy Survived Dallas?2014 –
Kristine Kathryn Rusch,
The Enemy Within2015 – Julie Mayhew,
The Big Lie1995 –
Stephen Baxter, "Brigantia's Angels"1996 –
Walter Jon Williams, "Foreign Devils" (in
War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches)1997 –
William Sanders, "
The Undiscovered"1998 – Ian R. MacLeod, "The Summer Isles"1999 –
Alain Bergeron, "The Eighth Register" (translated by Howard Scott)2000 –
Ted Chiang, "Seventy-two Letters"2001 –
Ken MacLeod, "The Human Front"2002 –
William Sanders, "Empire"2003 –
Chris Roberson, "O One"2004 –
Warren Ellis,
The Ministry of Space2005 –
Lois Tilton, "Pericles the Tyrant"2006 –
Gardner Dozois, "Counterfactual"2007 –
(tie): Michael Flynn, "
Quaestiones Super Caelo Et Mundo" &
Kristine Kathryn Rusch, "Recovering Apollo 8"2008 –
Mary Rosenblum, "Sacrifice"2009 –
Alastair Reynolds, "The Fixation"2010 – Alan Smale, "A Clash of Eagles"2011 –
Lisa Goldstein, "Paradise Is a Walled Garden"2012 –
Rick Wilber, "Something Real"2013 –
Vylar Kaftan, "The Weight of the Sunrise"2014 –
Ken Liu, "The Long Haul: From the Annals of Transportation, The Pacific Monthly, May 2009"2015 –
Bill Crider, "It Doesn't Matter Anymore"1995 – L. Sprague de Camp, lifetime achievement1997 –
Robert Sobel:
For Want of a Nail1999 –
Randall Garrett: The Lord Darcy Series
