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 2022, the jury members for the award were Matt Mitrovich, Olav Rokne, Kurt Sidaway, and Steven Silver.
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 on the Sideways Awards website. This year’s awards were announced at Chicon 8: The 80th World Science Fiction Convention in Chicago on September 3rd, following a panel discussion of Alternate History.
Author Eileen Gunn will be joining the Sidewise Award Panel beginning in 2023.
2022 Sidewise Award for Best Long Form Alternate History
Civilizations, by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor (Farrar, Straus and Giroux & Harvil Secker, originally published in French by Grasset in 2019)
2022 Sidewise Award for Best Short Form Alternate History
Gunpowder Treason, Alan Smale (Tales from Alternate Earths 3)
For more information about the Sidewise Award and a list of past winners/finalists, please see the website or contact Steven Silver at shsilver@sfsite.com (phone: 847-363-1546).
Special thanks to Steven Silver for submitting this report.
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