Sanders, William. "The Undiscovered"
Divergence: 1591 CE
What if: William Shakespeare traveled to the New World, albeit unwillingly.
Summary: A shaman's story of the blue-eyed slave his tribe captured one day, and the "plei" that he created and that they performed.
Published: In Asimov's Science Fiction, March 1997; The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection (ed. Gardner Dozois), St. Martin's 1998 (0312187793BUY, 0312190336BUY), v.t. The Mammoth Book of Best New SF 11, Robinson 1998 (185487599X); The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century (eds. Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenberg), q.v.; Are We Having Fun Yet?, Wildside 2002 (1587157098BUY); Best of the Best: 20 Years of the Year's Best Science Fiction (ed. Gardner Dozois), St. Martin's/Griffin 2005 (0312336551BUY, 031233656XBUY); and East of the Sun and West of Fort Smith, Norilana 2008 (1934648663BUY).
Published: On-line at Asimov's Science Fiction website, date unknown 1998.
Awards: Winner: 1997 Sidewise Award for best short-form alternate history. Nominee: 1997 Nebula for best novelette. Nominee: 1998 Hugo for best novelette.