In Alternate History discussions, we ususally preface a discussion of a story or situation with the root of the alternative - what event happened differently in a specific timeline to create the different situation.

In my case, if my mom's best friend had not moved to South Dakota and met my wife's mother, the three of them would have never had the opportunity to matchmake - and I would have never met my wife. That breakpoint I call the point of divergence, or POD for short.

The term seems to have caught on....and I used it for the title of this APA when I started it in 1995.

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POINT OF DIVERGENCE was started in 1995 as an amateur press association (APA) - a written 'many-to-many' aimed at the alternate history / alternate worlds enthusiast. POINT OF DIVERGENCE is a (cocktail party / BBS / Usenet Newsgroup) on paper - an area to discuss Alternate History topics, as well as a forum for writers in the genre to workshop their stories and gain constructive criticism from the membership.

A typical issue of POINT OF DIVERGENCE is around 300 pages, and may include such things as member-written fiction, bibliographies within the genre, hints on upcoming works in the genre, reviews and commentary/discussion on present works in the genre (get 'em before they go out of print!), and discussions of older works (and where to find them!). We try to stay on top of the latest information in the genre, including books, magazines, movies and TV shows.

Also fair game is artwork, theory of history, socio-historical variations, any number of stray what-ifs, exhaustive discussions on specific topics of interest (specific broad what-ifs) and so on. POINT OF DIVERGENCE is a creator's joy, and a fount of inspriation!

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... a forum for you to discuss and participate in every other month

POINT OF DIVERGENCE is not a subscription magazine. Here's why. With certain rare exceptions for exceptional people (famous authors, experts, etc), this is NOT something you can subscribe to and never will be (unless I win the lottery and can afford to support my family on the proceeds AND put up the production money for the magazine). It's a participation magazine - you read the last issue, and write up your comments on other people's fiction, commentary, etc., and add to it your own fiction, commentary, theories, etc.

You then repro up thirty (30) copies of your written contribution to the 'official editor', who combines your efforts with other people's writings every two months, and then sends the combined APA (for amateur press association) bundle back out to the membership.

The deadline for contributions to the next issue of POINT OF DIVERGENCE is found here; distribution by 1st class mail should follow within a week. POINT OF DIVERGENCE is collated every two months. (We are also looking for cover art for the issues of the apa...send inquiries to the Official Editor.)

The minimum activity needed to stay in POINT OF DIVERGENCE will be two pages of commentary / fiction every two issues - if you can't maintain that much activity, you're probably not all that interested in the discussion. Likewise, you must maintain your postage account and dues with the editor - $8 dues a year, and $3.30 postage and handling per issue (US mail rates only - non-US welcome, rates adjustable to arrangement between the member and OE.).

Actual contributions to the apa generally range in the 15-20 page a issue per person direction; some members regularly put in 40-50, some 2-5. Frankly, we feel that we have quality AND quantity in POINT OF DIVERGENCE; not a bad thing to be known for!

...about Alternate History ideas

We also discuss at length various historical alternatives, exchange timelines for same, and the discussions are very wide ranging. Our membership is from all over the world - Europe, Australia and the Americas (North and South) are well represented. We try to stay away from the same old stale topics that have been done to death (generally, what-ifs on the events of the American Civil War and World War II) and press on to fresh areas (look here for details). Believe me, there's plenty to talk about! And if you're determined to discuss WWII and General Lee and Grant, discuss away!

Here's some examples of what's been in POINT OF DIVERGENCE in the way of discussions, articles and reviews.

...and a story workshop for Alternate History Writers!

One of the primary features of POINT OF DIVERGENCE is that it is designed for workshopping Alternate History stories - to get criticism and suggestions on style, readability, and historical content (and realism/logic of the history you created). Some of the stories included have been:

• THE BLOODY PLAGUE: A group of European explorers comes to the New World in 1950 in search of the source of 'The Bloody Plague' that came to Europe in 1680.
• JOSH AND BILL: What if the effort to integrate Baseball was a little earlier, with two very different men - Bill Veeck and Josh Gibson.
• DIVERGENCE IN TWO ACTS: A very different situation for Mr. Schicklgruber...
• TROLLEY WORLD: Where the interurbans are king, and Gumshoe PI's are Gumshoe PIs with a twist.
• THE ETHICS OF TREASON: Greater Paraguay finds its place in the sun, and a escaping traitor is being stalked on a riverboat through the jungle...
• SUNSET: An alternate America where AIDS came back with the GIs from World War Two to a far less sophisticated world...
• NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND: The secret society of all secret societies burrows up from underneath our feet.
• BLOODY MARY: A very different sort of BBC radio play about a long-dead Queen.
• MR LINCOLN'S AERODROME: The Union tests out a new secret weapon against the Confederacy, and Mr. Lincoln gets to take a ride...
• JACKSON THUNDERJOY AND THE ACCOUNTANT FROM NIXONWORLD: A wild romp with secret agent Jackson Thunderjoy at the Infinity Trading Post.
• THE IDES OF MARCH: Italo Balbo leads a resurgent Italy after Mussolini's death to its destiny against Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
• VOLUNTEERS: Harry Truman falls to an assassin's bullets, and a very different world evolves into space...
• KIBRAT ARBA'I: A world where the great cities of the Indus Valley did not fall, but now face a new and deadly enemy to the West...
• THE POLITICS OF SORROW: President Hubert Humphrey tries to deal with Vietnam, RFK and an invalid on the Pedernales...
• DANS LA REGION DE NIL BLANC: The fall of the Third Republic in 1898 over Fashoda leads to war...
• TO BLEED FOR RUSSIA: The representatives of the great powers gather at Tsar Alexis II's coronation.
• McCARTHY'S ASSASSINATIONS: Joe McCarthy investigates the Truman assassination and the Korean War...
• ZACHARY'S WAR: Zachary Taylor's vetos start the American Civil War in 1850...