Where to start with Connie Willis: 9 award-recognized books
Connie Willis has won more major science fiction awards than almost any other writer. Her books range from screwball comedy to heartbreak, often in the same story, and many follow time-traveling historians from Oxford.
If you read just one: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, because it shows her comic side at its best, and stands alone.
The Oxford time-travel books
1. Doomsday Book
Won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award (1993) ·
A historian stranded in the Middle Ages as the Black Death arrives.
Good to know: Slow first half, devastating second.
2. To Say Nothing of the Dog
Won the Hugo and Locus Awards; finalist for the Nebula Award (1999) ·
A comic chase through Victorian England after a missing artifact.
3. Blackout/All Clear
Won the Hugo, Locus and Nebula Awards (2011) ·
Historians stranded in Britain during the Second World War.
Good to know: One story published in two volumes.
Standalone novels
4. Bellwether
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Nebula Award (1997–1998) ·
A researcher studying fads teams up with a chaos theorist and a flock of sheep. Short and very funny.
5. Passage
Won the Locus Award; finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke, Hugo and Nebula Awards (2002) ·
A researcher studying near-death experiences makes a discovery about where they lead.
Good to know: Long and emotionally intense.
6. The Road to Roswell
Finalist for the Locus Award (2024) ·
A woman is kidnapped by an alien near Roswell and ends up on a road trip. A comedy.
Award-winning novellas
7. The Last of the Winnebagos
Won the Hugo and Nebula Awards; finalist for the Locus Award (1989) ·
In a future without dogs, a photographer chases a story about the last Winnebago.
8. Inside Job
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Locus Award (2006) ·
A professional skeptic investigates a medium who seems to channel a famous journalist.
9. All Seated on the Ground
Won the Hugo Award; finalist for the Locus Award (2008) ·
Aliens land in Denver and do nothing but stare disapprovingly. A Christmas comedy.
How we chose
Every book in this guide won or was a finalist for at least one of the Hugo, Nebula, Locus or Arthur C. Clarke awards. Each book page lists its full award history with sources. Page counts come from English print editions and vary by edition. 9 books in all.