James Tiptree, Jr.
(August 24, 1915 – May 19, 1987)
Alice Bradley Sheldon was a SF author much better known as James Tiptree, Jr., a pseudonym she used from 1967 until her death. She also wrote occasionally as Raccoona Sheldon. She was most notable for breaking down the barriers between writing perceived as inherently "male" or "female," as it was not publicly known until 1977 that James Tiptree, Jr. was a pen name for a woman. Julie Phillips wrote a biography, James Tiptree, Jr.--The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon.
Her books included Up the Walls of the World (1978), Brightness Falls from the Air (1985), Neat Sheets (1996), and Meet Me at Infinity (2001) [a collection of her previously uncollected and unpublished fiction and non-fiction].
She died at her own hand in 1987, after first shooting her husband as part of a suicide pact over their declining health. In 2019, the James Tiptree, Jr. Memorial Award for "gender-bending" SF or fantasy, given annually in her honor, was renamed due to sudden consternation over this fact that apparently wasn’t an issue from 1991, when the award was created, up until then.
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1974 -- Best Novella Hugo
- 1977 -- Best Novella Hugo
- 1992 -- Readercon 5 (Memorial GoH)
- 1995 -- The Only Neat Thing to Do was Book of Honor at Potlatch 4
- 2011 -- Solstice Award
- 2012 -- Science Fiction Hall of Fame
- 2014 -- FOGcon 2014 (Ghost of Honor)
- seven more Hugo nominations
- three Nebula Awards
- a World Fantasy Award
- two Locus Awards
- two Science Fiction Chronicle Awards
| Person | 1915—1987 |
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