Sideways in Time Paper Update 11/13/14

I didn't post a follow-up last week on my progress (check out my last update) because the Halloween weekend really cut into my research time. Still I am happy to announce that I have a working title for the paper: Warping History: An Overview of Fans and Creators of Alternate History in the Internet Age.

I think the title is appropriate. As I dived into my research of the alternate history fandom I realized two very important characteristics about alternate historians. First, they aren't exactly "fans" in the traditional sense of the word and, second, the modern sub-genre's formation relies heavily on the development of the Internet. What is my reasoning for these theories? You are going to have to read my history to find out.

Anywho, lets finish up with what I have been doing lately:

• I have been perusing the Turtledove Award archive looking for notable timelines to reference in the paper. I found a fair few and learned more about timelines I already planned to include like...
• Shame on me that I forgot that Graeme Shimmin's A Kill in the Morning got its start on AlternateHistory.com. I think the story of something that began as essentially fan fiction on an online forum and evolved into a professional work backed by a major publisher would go well with my paper.
• Found this Australian article that was very complimentary toward alternate historians. Adding those bits to my characteristics section.

I'm starting to run out of time on this paper and abstracts are due for the conference on December 15th. I hope to use my Thanksgiving Break to begin writing the paper and hammer out the abstract. In the meantime, I am still looking for anyone who can provide me with more information on the Geocities era, the Tarrantry Saga and any information about alternate history map making. If you can help me or know someone who can, please email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. Any new avenues of research will be greatly appreciated.

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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.