Japanese Literary Awards

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Harry Turtledove

ハリイ・タートルダヴ

Harii Tātorudavu

Pen Names: H. N. Turteltaub（Pen name used for some historical-fiction works）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1949-06-14 （Los Angeles, California, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Judaism (of Jewish descent)
Residence History
Los Angeles, California, United States → California, United States (other residencies also)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Novelist, Historian
Active Years
1979-

Education

California Institute of Technology
Country: United States
Attended then dropped out
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Byzantine history
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1970s
Year of Graduation: 1977
Country: United States
Earned Ph.D. with a dissertation on Byzantine history

Awards

Sidewise Award
1997
Category: Long Form
Organization: Sidewise Award for Alternate History
Result: winner
Hugo Award
1992
Work: The Guns of the South
Category: Best Novel
Organization: World Science Fiction Society (Hugo Awards)
Result: nominated

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Guns of the South

1992 Alternate history / Science fiction

An alternate-history novel set during the American Civil War in which time travelers supply advanced weapons to alter the course of history. It brought Turtledove wide attention and was a Hugo nominee.

alternate historyAmerican Civil Warmilitary technology and its effects

The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump

1997 Fantasy / Comic fantasy

A comic fantasy set in a world where magic literally exists and has tangible consequences. A Japanese translation was published as 『精霊がいっぱい!』.

practicalities of magicenvironmental consequences of magichumor
Translations
  • The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump (Japanese translation: Sata Chiori, title: 精霊がいっぱい!)

Bibliography

  • How Few Remain
  • The Two Georges
  • The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump
  • The Guns of the South

Translations of Works

  • The Case of the Toxic Spell Dump (Japanese translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, accessible prosemeticulous attention to historical detailoften interwoven humor
Recurring Motifs
points of historical divergencewar and shifting social structurescultural contact and consequences

Legacy

A leading author of alternate-history fiction whose academic background in history informs his prolific and influential body of work. Winner of the Sidewise Award and a major figure in the alternate-history genre.

Academic Societies

  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) (likely)

Trivia

  • Born of Romanian-Jewish descent.
  • Attended Caltech before dropping out; later earned a Ph.D. from UCLA.
  • Became widely known in alternate-history after The Guns of the South was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1992.
  • Won the Sidewise Award in 1997.