diff --git a/lib/ash/error/query/invalid_sort.ex b/lib/ash/error/query/invalid_sort.ex
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3b2f71ef3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ash/error/query/invalid_sort.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2019 ash contributors <https://github.com/ash-project/ash/graphs/contributors>
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+
+defmodule Ash.Error.Query.InvalidSort do
+  @moduledoc "Used when an invalid sort is provided"
+
+  use Splode.Error, fields: [:sort], class: :invalid
+
+  def message(%{sort: sort}) do
+    "#{inspect(sort)} is not a valid sort"
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/ash/sort/sort.ex b/lib/ash/sort/sort.ex
index 34ae76de7..4674695a9 100644
--- a/lib/ash/sort/sort.ex
+++ b/lib/ash/sort/sort.ex
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ defmodule Ash.Sort do
           list(sort_item)
           | sort_item
 
-  alias Ash.Error.Query.{InvalidSortOrder, NoSuchField, UnsortableField}
+  alias Ash.Error.Query.{InvalidSort, InvalidSortOrder, NoSuchField, UnsortableField}
 
   @doc """
   Builds an expression to be used in a sort statement. Prefer to use `Ash.Expr.calc/2` instead.
@@ -125,6 +125,8 @@ defmodule Ash.Sort do
 
   def parse_input(_resource, nil, _), do: {:ok, nil}
 
+  def parse_input(_resource, sort, _), do: {:error, InvalidSort.exception(sort: sort)}
+
   @doc """
   Same as `parse_input/2` except raises any errors
 
@@ -211,13 +213,16 @@ defmodule Ash.Sort do
     end
   end
 
-  def parse_sort(resource, field, handler, public_only?) do
+  def parse_sort(resource, field, handler, public_only?)
+      when is_binary(field) or is_atom(field) or is_struct(field) do
     case get_field(resource, field, handler, public_only?) do
       {:error, error} -> {:error, error}
       {:ok, field} -> {:ok, add_order(field, :asc)}
     end
   end
 
+  def parse_sort(_resource, sort, _, _), do: {:error, InvalidSort.exception(sort: sort)}
+
   defp add_order({field, map}, order) when is_map(map) do
     {field, {map, order}}
   end
diff --git a/test/sort/sort_test.exs b/test/sort/sort_test.exs
index 3f1044322..ad1b2aba7 100644
--- a/test/sort/sort_test.exs
+++ b/test/sort/sort_test.exs
@@ -204,6 +204,20 @@ defmodule Ash.Test.Sort.SortTest do
       assert %{sort: [title: :asc, contents: :desc]} =
                Ash.Query.sort_input(Post, ["+title", "-contents"])
     end
+
+    test "a sort that is neither a string nor a list adds an error to the query" do
+      for input <- [5, %{}, %{"title" => "asc"}] do
+        assert %Ash.Query{valid?: false, errors: [%Ash.Error.Query.InvalidSort{sort: ^input}]} =
+                 Ash.Query.sort_input(Post, input)
+      end
+    end
+
+    test "a list containing a non-field value adds an error to the query" do
+      assert %Ash.Query{
+               valid?: false,
+               errors: [%Ash.Error.Query.InvalidSort{sort: %{"field" => "title"}}]
+             } = Ash.Query.sort_input(Post, [%{"field" => "title"}])
+    end
   end
 
   describe "sorting on calculations whose expression/2 reads context.source_context" do
@@ -298,6 +312,13 @@ defmodule Ash.Test.Sort.SortTest do
       assert {:error, %Ash.Error.Query.NoSuchField{}} = Ash.Sort.parse_input(Post, "points")
     end
 
+    test "a sort that is neither a string nor a list is an error" do
+      assert {:error, %Ash.Error.Query.InvalidSort{sort: 5}} = Ash.Sort.parse_input(Post, 5)
+
+      assert {:error, %Ash.Error.Query.InvalidSort{sort: %{"title" => "asc"}}} =
+               Ash.Sort.parse_input(Post, %{"title" => "asc"})
+    end
+
     test "a list sort parses properly" do
       assert {:ok, [title: :asc, contents: :desc]} =
                Ash.Sort.parse_input(Post, ["title", "-contents"])