2013 Sidewise Award Winners (Plus Hugo News)

In case you don't follow The Update on social media, yesterday the winners of the 2013 Sidewise Awards were announced. There was a tie in the long-form category, something which hasn't happened since 2002. The winners were the The Windsor Faction by DJ Taylor and Surrounded by Enemies by Bryce Zabel. Vylar Kaftan's "The Weight of the Sunrise" also won in the short-form category.

I admit I am surprised by the outcome of the long-form winners. Although I thought Surrounded by Enemies was a strong contender (read my review at Amazing Stories), I actually didn't enjoy reading The Windsor Faction (you can read my review of that book also at Amazing Stories). Perhaps I wasn't the target audience or else something in my life was distracting me (I was just beginning the difficult process of moving to a new home when I started the book). Either way, perhaps I will give it another shot somewhere down the line and see if my feelings about the book change.

Along with the Sidewise Awards, the 2014 Hugo winners were also announced. Among the many winners was Mary Robinette Kowal's alternate history "The Lady Astronaut of Mars" for best novelette. Its good to see our favorite genre represented in the Hugos.

A bit of house cleaning: no Weekly Update this week because I was camping this weekend and didn't have the time. Go read the winners of the Sidewise and Hugo Awards and if you don't have a copy, remember you can purchase one and put some wind in our sails by clicking through our Amazon banner. I will be back next week with an extra helping of alternate history news.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. Check out his short fiction. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.