Harry Norman Turtledove (born June 14, 1949) is an American author who is best known for his work in the genres of

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

, and

mystery fiction Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

. He is a student of history and completed his PhD in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

history. His dissertation was on the period AD 565–582. He lives in Southern California. In addition to his birth name, Turtledove writes under a number of

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s: Eric Iverson, H. N. Turteltaub, Dan Chernenko, and Mark Gordian. He began publishing novels in the realm of fantasy starting in 1979 and continues to publish to the current day; his latest being '' Or Even Eagle Flew'' (2021) about

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

and

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

Turtledove was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California, on June 14, 1949 and grew up in Gardena in Southern California. His paternal grandparents, who were Romanian Jews, had first emigrated to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, before they moved to California in the United States. He was educated in local public schools during his early life. After dropping out during his freshman year at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, Turtledove attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, where he completed his undergraduate degree and received a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

history in 1977. His dissertation was ''The Immediate Successors of

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renova ...

: A Study of the Persian Problem and of Continuity and Change in Internal Secular Affairs in the Later

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

During the Reigns of Justin II and Tiberius II Constantine ( AD 565–582)''.

Career

Turtledove published his first two novels, ''Wereblood'' and ''Werenight'', in 1979 under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

"Eric G. Iverson". He later explained that his editor at Belmont Tower did not think that people would believe the author's real name was "Turtledove" and came up with something more Nordic. He continued to use "Iverson" until 1985. Another early pseudonym was "Mark Gordian". That year, he published ''Herbig-Haro'' and ''And So to Bed'' under his real name. Turtledove has recently begun publishing historical novels under the pseudonym "H. N. Turteltaub" (''Turteltaube'' means turtle dove in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

). He published three books as "Dan Chernenko" (the ''Scepter of Mercy'' series). He has written several works in collaboration, including '' The Two Georges'' with

Richard Dreyfuss Richard Stephen Dreyfuss (; born Dreyfus; October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for starring in popular films during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, including '' American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Jaws'' (1975), '' Close Encounters of the ...

, "Death in Vesunna" with his first wife, Betty Turtledove (pen name: Elaine O'Byrne); '' Household Gods'' with Judith Tarr; and others with

Susan Shwartz Susan Shwartz (born December 31, 1949) is an American author.King, T. Jackson. "SFC Interview: Susan Shwartz". ''Science Fiction Chronicle'' 16(7): 5, (pp. 30-33). June/July 1995. Education and career She received her B.A. in English from M ...

S. M. Stirling Stephen Michael Stirling (born September 30, 1953) is a Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author who was born in France. Stirling is well known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and his later time travel/alternate his ...

, and Kevin R. Sandes. Turtledove won the Homer Award for Short Story in 1990 for "Designated Hitter", the John Esten Cooke Award for Southern Fiction in 1993 for '' The Guns of the South'', and the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by its members. The Hugo is widely considered the premier ...

for Novella in 1994 for "Down in the Bottomlands". ''Must and Shall'' was nominated for the 1996

and

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of prof ...

for Best Novelette and received an honorable mention for the 1995 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. ''The Two Georges'' also received an honorable mention for the 1995 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. His ''

Worldwar The Worldwar series is the fan name given to a series of eight alternate history science fiction novels by Harry Turtledove. Its premise is an alien invasion of Earth during World War II, and includes Turtledove's ''Worldwar'' tetralogy, as ...

'' series received a Sidewise Award for Alternate History Honorable Mention in 1996. In 1998, his novel '' How Few Remain'' won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. He won his second Sidewise Award in 2003 for his novel '' Ruled Britannia''. He won his third Sidewise Award for his short story "Zigeuner” and his fourth for his short story "Christmas Truce". On August 1, 1998, Turtledove was named honorary

Kentucky Colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) i ...

as guest of honor at Rivercon XXIII in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. His '' The Gladiator'' was the cowinner of the 2008 Prometheus Award. Turtledove served as the toastmaster for Chicon 2000, the 58th World Science Fiction Convention. He is married to the mystery and science fiction writer Laura Frankos. His brother-in-law is the fantasy author Steven Frankos. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' dubbed Turtledove "The Master of Alternate History". Within the genre, he is known for creating original alternate history scenarios, such as survival of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

or an alien invasion during the middle of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. In addition, he has been credited with giving original treatment to alternate themes that had been dealt with by many others, such as the victory of the South in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

or the

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

during the Second World War. His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream.

Bibliography

References

External links

Fantastic Fiction Author Page

MacMillan Publisher's Harry Turtledove page
*
National Review Online audio interview with Harry Turtledove
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turtledove, Harry 1949 births Living people American alternate history writers American Byzantinists American fantasy writers American historical novelists American science fiction writers Jewish American novelists Writers from California Conan the Barbarian novelists Hugo Award-winning writers American people of Romanian-Jewish descent Sidewise Award winners University of California, Los Angeles alumni California Institute of Technology alumni 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers