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James Tiptree, Jr. (August 24, 1915 – May 19, 1987) was the pen name
Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of...
 of American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 science fiction author Alice Bradley Sheldon, used from 1967 to her death. She also occasionally wrote under the pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
 Raccoona Sheldon (1974–77). Tiptree/Sheldon was most notable for breaking down the barriers between writing perceived as inherently "male" or "female" — it was not publicly known until 1977 that James Tiptree, Jr.






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Quotations


Our fellow passenger was Major Grogan, who thirty years before had been the first white man to go from the Cape to Cairo. It took him three years, one whole year in the marshes of the Sudd; his two companions died. It is said he ate them; I think so. He looked like a sensible man.

ibid





Encyclopedia


James Tiptree, Jr. (August 24, 1915 – May 19, 1987) was the pen name
Pen name

A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her writings, or for any of a number of...
 of American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 science fiction author Alice Bradley Sheldon, used from 1967 to her death. She also occasionally wrote under the pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
 Raccoona Sheldon (1974–77). Tiptree/Sheldon was most notable for breaking down the barriers between writing perceived as inherently "male" or "female" — it was not publicly known until 1977 that James Tiptree, Jr. was a woman.

Early life

Bradley came from an intellectual family; her father was Herbert Bradley, a lawyer and naturalist, and her mother was Mary Hastings Bradley
Mary Hastings Bradley

Mary Hastings Bradley was born in 1882 in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Smith College in 1905 where she majored in English. After graduation she traveled to Egypt with a cousin and was inspired to write ?The Palace of Darkened Windows? and ?The Fortieth Door? detailing the life of the veiled and secluded women of Egypt....
, a prolific writer of fiction and travel books. She travelled the world with her parents from an early age. She was a graphic artist and a painter, and an art critic for the Chicago Sun between 1941 and 1942. She was married to William Davey from 1934 to 1941.

In 1942 she joined the United States Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 and worked in the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces

The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. The direct precursor to the United States Air Force, its peak size was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft in 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943....
 photointelligence group. In 1945 she married her second husband, Huntington D Sheldon, and she was discharged from the military in 1946, at which time she set up a small business
Small business

A small business is a business that is independently owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. The legal definition of "small" often varies by country and industry, but is generally under 100 employees in the United States and under 50 employees in the European Union....
 in partnership with her husband. The same year her first story ("The Lucky Ones") was published in the November 16, 1946 issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an United States magazine that publishes reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Starting as a weekly in the mid-1920s, the magazine is now published 47 times per year, with five of these issues covering two-week spans....
, and credited to "Alice Bradley" in the magazine itself, but to "Alice Bradley Sheldon" in the magazine's DVD
DVD

DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
 index. In 1952 she and her husband were invited to join the CIA. She resigned in 1955 to return to college.

She studied for her Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin language Artium Baccalaureus, is an Undergraduate education bachelor's degree awarded for either a course or a program in either the liberal arts, the sciences or both....
 degree at American University
American University

American University is a Private university United Methodist Church-affiliated research university in Washington, D.C., United States, the main campus of which comes to a corner at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues at Ward Circle, straddling the Spring Valley, Washington, D.C., Wesley Heights, and American University Par...
 (1957–59), going on to achieve a doctorate
Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree that in most countries represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given field. In some countries it also refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to practice in a specific profession ....
 at George Washington University
George Washington University

The George Washington University is a Private university, Mixed-sex education university located in Washington, D.C. The school was chartered on February 9, 1821 as The Columbian College in the District of Columbia by an Act of Congress and since that time has developed into a nonsectarian research institution....
 in Experimental Psychology
Experimental psychology

Experimental psychology approaches psychology as one of the natural sciences, investigates it using the experiment. The focus of experimental psychology is on discovering the underlying processes behind behavior and the specific nature of mental life....
 in 1967. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on the responses of animals to novel stimuli in differing environments.

Sheldon was bisexual. "I like some men a lot, but from the start, before I knew anything, it was always girls and women who lit me up."

Science fiction career

Unsure what to do with her new degrees and her new/old careers, Sheldon began to write science fiction. She adopted the pseudonym
Pseudonym

A pseudonym, , is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name. In some cases, pseudonyms are adopted because it is part of a cultural or organizational tradition, as in the case of Religious names used by members of some religious orders and "cadre names" used by Communist party leaders such as Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin....
 of James Tiptree Jr. in 1967. The name "Tiptree" came from a jar of marmalade. In an interview, she said: "A male name seemed like good camouflage. I had the feeling that a man would slip by less observed. I've had too many experiences in my life of being the first woman in some damned occupation."

The pseudonym was successfully maintained until the late 1970s. This is partly due to the fact that though it was widely known that "Tiptree" was a pseudonym, it was generally understood that its use was intended to protect the professional reputation of an intelligence community official. Readers, editors and correspondents were permitted to assume gender
Gender

Gender comprises a range of differences between man and woman, extending from the biological to the social. Biologically, the male gender is defined by the presence of a Y-chromosome, and its absence in the female gender....
, and almost invariably they assumed "male."

"Tiptree" never made any public appearances, but she did correspond regularly with fans and other science fiction authors through the mail. When asked for biographical details, Tiptree/Sheldon was forthcoming in everything but gender. Many of the details given above (the Air Force career, the Ph.D.) were mentioned in letters "Tiptree" wrote, and also appeared in official author biographies.

After the death of Mary Hastings Bradley in 1976, "Tiptree" mentioned that his mother, also a writer, had died in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 — details that led inquiring fans to find the obituary
Obituary

An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died. It is to be distinguished from a death notice , which is a paid advertisement written by family members and placed in the newspaper either by the family or the funeral home....
, with its reference to Alice Sheldon; soon all was revealed. Several prominent science fiction
Science fiction

Science fiction is a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theatre, and other media....
 writers suffered some embarrassment. Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg

Robert Silverberg is a prolific United States author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both the Hugo Award and Nebula Awards....
 had written an introduction to Warm Worlds and Otherwise
Warm Worlds and Otherwise

Warm Worlds and Otherwise is a short story collection by Alice Sheldon that was first published in 1975 in literature. This collection is notable for its introduction, in which Robert Silverberg wrote that he found the theory that Tiptree was female "absurd", that the author of these stories could only be a man....
, arguing on the basis of selections from stories in the collection, that Tiptree could not possibly be a woman. And in an introduction to Tiptree's story in his Again, Dangerous Visions
Again, Dangerous Visions

Again, Dangerous Visions is the sequel to the science fiction short story anthology Dangerous Visions, first published in 1972. It was edited by Harlan Ellison and illustrated by Ed Emshwiller....
 anthology, Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison

Harlan Jay Ellison is a prolific United States writer of short stories, novellas, teleplays, essays, and criticism. His literary and television work has received many awards....
 opined that "[Kate] Wilhelm
Kate Wilhelm

Kate Wilhelm , born June 8,1928 in Toledo, Ohio, Ohio, is a writer whose works include science fiction, mystery fiction, and fantasy....
 is the woman to beat this year, but Tiptree is the man."

The revelation of her gender had less adverse impact on people's opinions of her talent than she had feared; her final Nebula Award
Nebula Award

The Nebula Award is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years ....
 (for "The Screwfly Solution
The Screwfly Solution

"The Screwfly Solution" is a 1977 science fiction short story by Raccoona Sheldon, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon, who was better known by her other nom de plume, James Tiptree, Jr....
," published under her other occasional pseudonym, Raccoona Sheldon) was awarded in 1977.

Description of works

Tiptree/Sheldon was an eclectic writer who worked in a variety of styles and subgenres, often combining the technological focus and hard-edged style of "hard
Hard science fiction

Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both....
" science fiction with the sociological and psychological concerns of "soft
Soft science fiction

Soft science fiction, or soft SF, like its wikt:complementary opposite hard science fiction, is a descriptive term that points to the role and nature of the science content in a science fiction story....
" SF, and some of the stylistic experimentation of the New Wave
New Wave (science fiction)

New Wave is a term applied to science fiction writing characterized by a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously "literary" or artistic sensibility....
 movement.

After writing several stories in more conventional modes, she produced her first work to draw widespread acclaim, "The Last Flight of Doctor Ain", in 1969. One of her shortest stories, "Ain" is a sympathetic portrait of a scientist whose concern for Earth's ecological
Ecology

Ecology is the science study of the distribution and Abundance of life and the interactions between organisms and their nature environment ....
 suffering leads him to destroy the entire human race
Human Race

The Human Race could be:* The Human species; see also World population* The Human Race , a comic book published by DC Comics* Human Race , a video game...
.

Many of her stories have a milieu reminiscent of the space opera
Space opera

Space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romance , often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing powerful technologies and abilities....
 and pulp
Pulp magazine

Pulp magazines were inexpensive fiction magazines. They were widely published from the 1920s through the 1950s. The term pulp fiction can also refer to mass market paperbacks since the 1950s....
 tales she read in her youth, but typically with a much darker tone: the cosmic journeys of her characters are often linked to a drastic spiritual alienation, and/or a transcendent experience which brings fulfillment but also death. John Clute
John Clute

John Frederick Clute is a Canada born author and critic who has lived in United Kingdom since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
, noting Tiptree's "inconsolable complexities of vision", concluded that "It is very rarely that a James Tiptree story does not both deal directly with death and end with a death of the spirit, or of all hope, or of the race". Notable stories of this type include "Painwise", in which a space explorer has been altered to be immune to pain but finds such an existence intolerable, and "A Momentary Taste of Being", in which the true purpose of humanity, found on a distant planet, renders individual human life entirely pointless.

Another major theme is the tension between free will and biological determinism, or reason and sexual desire. "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death
Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death

"Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" is a short story by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1973.The story is unusual in that it involves no human characters, but is told entirely from the perspective of a giant spider-like creature....
", one of the rare SF stories in which no humans appear, describes an alien creature's romantic rationalizations for the brutal instincts that drive its life cycle; "The Screwfly Solution
The Screwfly Solution

"The Screwfly Solution" is a 1977 science fiction short story by Raccoona Sheldon, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon, who was better known by her other nom de plume, James Tiptree, Jr....
" suggests that humans might similarly rationalize a plague of murderous sexual insanity. Sex in Tiptree's writing is frankly portrayed, a sometimes playful but more often threatening force.

Before the revelation of Sheldon's identity, Tiptree was often referred to as unusually feminist
Feminism

Feminism is the belief that women should have equal political, social, sexual, intellectual and economic rights to men. It involves various movements, Theory, and philosophies, all concerned with issues of gender difference, that advocate equality for women and that campaign for women's rights and interests....
 for a male science fiction writer — particularly for "The Women Men Don't See", a story of two women who are visited by aliens and, rather than being abducted, go willingly to escape their limited opportunities on Earth. However, Sheldon's view of sexual politics could be ambiguous, as in the somewhat colorless and ruthless society of female clones in "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?
Houston, Houston, Do You Read?

"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" is a novella by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1976 and a Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1977....
"

Sheldon's two novels, produced toward the end of her career, were not as critically well received as her best-known stories but continued to explore similar themes. Some of her best-regarded work can be found in the collection Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever

Her Smoke Rose Up Forever is a collection of Science fiction and Fantasy fiction stories by author James Tiptree, Jr.. It was released in 1990 in literature by Arkham House....
, available in paperback as of 2004.

Death

Sheldon continued writing under the Tiptree pen name for another decade. On May 19, 1987, at age 71, Sheldon took the life of her 84-year-old, nearly blind husband and then took her own. (Contrary to rumor, her husband did not have Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia....
.) They were found dead, hand in hand in bed, in their Virginia
Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
 home. According to biographer Julie Phillips, the suicide note Sheldon left was written years earlier, and saved until needed. In an interview with Charles Platt
Charles Platt (science-fiction author)

Charles Platt is the author of 41 fiction and nonfiction books, including science-fiction novels such as The Silicon Man and Protektor ....
 in the early 1980s Sheldon spoke of her emotional problems and previous suicide attempts. Much of her work contains dark and pessimistic elements, which in retrospect can be seen as reflective of her troubled emotions.

The James Tiptree, Jr. Award
James Tiptree, Jr. Award

The James Tiptree, Jr. Award is an annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender....
 is given in her honor each year for a work of science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores our understanding of gender; funds for the award are raised in part by bake sales.

Quotes about James Tiptree, Jr

  • "James Tiptree's surface was often airy and at times hilarious, and her control of genre conventions allowed her to convey the bleakness of her abiding insights in tales that remain seductively readable; but she was, in the end, incapable of dissimulation." — from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
    The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

    The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is a reference work on science fiction.The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979....
    , by John Clute
    John Clute

    John Frederick Clute is a Canada born author and critic who has lived in United Kingdom since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
     and Peter Nicholls
    Peter Nicholls (writer)

    Peter Nicholls is an Australian literary scholar and critic. He is the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction .Born in Melbourne, Victoria, he spent two decades as an expatriate, first in the US, and then the UK....
  • "Sheldon was simply one of the best short-story writers of our day....She has already had an enormous impact on upcoming generations of SF writers. Her footprints are all over cyberpunk turf (...)" — Gardner Dozois
    Gardner Dozois

    Gardner Raymond Dozois is an United States science fiction author and editing. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004....
    , in Locus
    Locus (magazine)

    Locus is a monthly United States magazine, subtitled "The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field". It reports on the science fiction and fantasy writing industry, including comprehensive listings of new books published in the field....
     magazine, 1987
  • "Her stories and novels are humanistic, while her deep concern for male-female (even human-alien) harmony ran counter to the developing segregate-the-sexes drive amongst feminist writers; What her work brought to the genre was a blend of lyricism and inventiveness, as if some lyric poet had rewritten a number of clever SF standards and then passed them on to a psychoanalyst
    Psychoanalysis

    Psychoanalysis is a body of ideas developed by Austrian physician Sigmund Freud and his followers, which is devoted to the study of human psychological functioning and behaviour....
     for final polish." — Brian Aldiss
    Brian Aldiss

    Brian Wilson Aldiss, Order of the British Empire, is a prolific England author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W....
    , Trillion Year Spree
  • "'Tip' was a crucial part of modern SF's maturing process (...)'He'(...) wrote powerful fiction challenging readers' assumptions about everything, especially sex and gender." — Suzy McKee Charnas
    Suzy McKee Charnas

    Suzy McKee Charnas is an United States novelist and short story writer, writing primarily in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. She has won several awards for her fiction, including the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the James Tiptree, Jr....
    , The Women's Review of Books
  • "[Tiptree's work is] proof of what she said, that men and women can and do speak both to and for one another, if they have bothered to learn how." — Ursula K. Le Guin
    Ursula K. Le Guin

    Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an United States author. She has written novels, poetry, children's literature books, essays, and short story, most notably in the fantasy and science fiction genres....
    , Khatru


Bibliography


Short story collections

  • Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home
    Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home

    Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home is a short story collection by Alice Sheldon under the pen name of James Tiptree, Jr that was first published in 1973 in literature....
     (1973)
  • Warm Worlds and Otherwise
    Warm Worlds and Otherwise

    Warm Worlds and Otherwise is a short story collection by Alice Sheldon that was first published in 1975 in literature. This collection is notable for its introduction, in which Robert Silverberg wrote that he found the theory that Tiptree was female "absurd", that the author of these stories could only be a man....
     (1975)
  • Star Songs of an Old Primate
    Star Songs of an Old Primate

    Star Songs of an Old Primate is the third short story collection by Alice Sheldon . It was published by Del Rey Books in 1978 in literature....
     (1978)
  • Out of the Everywhere and Other Extraordinary Visions
    Out of the Everywhere and Other Extraordinary Visions

    Out of the Everywhere, and Other Extraordinary Visions is a short story collection by James Tiptree, Jr that was first published in 1981 as a Del Rey Books paperback original....
     (1981)
  • Byte Beautiful: Eight Science Fiction Stories
    Byte Beautiful: Eight Science Fiction Stories

    Byte Beautiful: Eight Science Fiction Stories is a 1985 short story collection by James Tiptree, Jr....
     (1985)
  • The Starry Rift (1986) (linked stories)
  • Tales of the Quintana Roo
    Tales of the Quintana Roo

    Tales of the Quintana Roo is a collection of fantasy stories by author James Tiptree, Jr.. It was released in 1986 in literature and was the author's first book published by Arkham House ....
     (1986) (linked stories)
  • Crown of Stars
    Crown of Stars

    Crown of Stars is a short story collection by James Tiptree, Jr that was first published in 1988. All but one of the stories had previously appeared elsewhere....
     (1988)
  • Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
    Her Smoke Rose Up Forever

    Her Smoke Rose Up Forever is a collection of Science fiction and Fantasy fiction stories by author James Tiptree, Jr.. It was released in 1990 in literature by Arkham House....
     (omnibus collection) (1990)


Timeline of Stories

  • 1968
    • 'The Mother Ship' (later retitled 'Mamma Come Home') (novelette)
    • 'Pupa Knows Best' (later retitled 'Help') (novelette)
    • 'Birth of a Salesman' (short story)
    • 'Fault' (short story)
  • 1969
    • 'Beam Us Home' (short story)
    • 'The Last Flight of Doctor Ain' (short story)
    • 'Your Haploid Heart' (novelette)
    • 'The Snows Are Melted, The Snows Are Gone' (novelette)
    • 'Parimutuel Planet' (later retitled 'Faithful to Thee, Terra, in Our Fashion') (novelette)
  • 1970
    • 'Last Night and Every Night' (short story)
    • 'The Man Doors Said Hello To' (short story)
    • 'I’m Too Big But I Love to Play' (novelette)
    • 'The Nightblooming Saurian' (short story)
  • 1971
    • 'The Peacefulness of Vivyan' (short story)
    • 'I’ll Be Waiting for You When the Swimming Pool Is Empty' (short story)
    • 'And So On, And So On' (short story)
    • 'Mother in the Sky with Diamonds' (novelette)
  • 1972
    • 'The Man Who Walked Home' (short story)
    • 'And I Have Come Upon This Place by Lost Ways' (novelette)
    • 'And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side' (short story)
    • 'On the Last Afternoon' (novella)
    • 'Painwise' (novelette)
    • 'Forever to a Hudson Bay Blanket' (short story)
    • 'Filomena & Greg & Rikki-Tikki & Barlow & the Alien' (later retitled 'All the Kinds of Yes') (novelette)
    • 'The Milk of Paradise' (short story)
    • 'Amberjack' (short story)
    • 'Through a Lass Darkly' (short story)
  • 1973
    • 'Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death
      Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death

      "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" is a short story by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1973.The story is unusual in that it involves no human characters, but is told entirely from the perspective of a giant spider-like creature....
      ' (short story)
    • 'The Women Men Don’t See' (novelette)
    • 'The Girl Who Was Plugged In
      The Girl Who Was Plugged In

      '"The Girl Who Was Plugged In" is a science fiction short story by James Tiptree, Jr, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon. It won a Hugo Award in 1974....
      ' (novelette)
    • Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home (collection of 15 stories, with an introduction by Harry Harrison
      Harry Harrison

      Harry Harrison is an United States science fiction author best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! , the basis for the film Soylent Green ....
      )
  • 1974
    • 'Her Smoke Rose Up Forever' (novelette)
    • 'Angel Fix' (novelette, under the name 'Raccoona Sheldon')
  • 1975
    • 'A Momentary Taste of Being' (novella)
    • Warm Worlds and Otherwise (collection of 12 stories, with an introduction by Robert Silverberg
      Robert Silverberg

      Robert Silverberg is a prolific United States author, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both the Hugo Award and Nebula Awards....
      )
  • 1976
    • 'Your Faces, O My Sisters! Your Faces Filled of Light!' (short story, under the name Raccoona Sheldon)
    • 'Beaver Tears' (short story, under the name Raccoona Sheldon)
    • 'She Waits for All Men Born' (short story)
    • 'Houston, Houston, Do You Read?
      Houston, Houston, Do You Read?

      "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" is a novella by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1976 and a Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1977....
      ' (novella)
    • 'The Psychologist Who Wouldn’t Do Awful Things to Rats' (novelette)
  • 1977
    • 'The Screwfly Solution
      The Screwfly Solution

      "The Screwfly Solution" is a 1977 science fiction short story by Raccoona Sheldon, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon, who was better known by her other nom de plume, James Tiptree, Jr....
      ' (novelette, under the name Raccoona Sheldon)
    • 'Time-Sharing Angel' (short story)
  • 1978
    • 'We Who Stole the Dream' (novelette)
    • Star Songs of an Old Primate (collection of 7 stories, with an introduction by Ursula K. Le Guin)
    • 'Up the Walls of the World' (novel)
  • 1980
    • 'Slow Music' (novella)
    • 'A Source of Innocent Merriment' (short story)
  • 1981
    • 'Excursion Fare' (novelette)
    • 'Lirios: A Tale of the Quintana Roo' (later retitled 'What Came Ashore at Lirios') (novelette)
    • Out of the Everywhere, and Other Extraordinary Visions (collection of eight previously published stories, plus 2 new stories:)
      • 'Out of the Everywhere' (novelette)
      • 'With Delicate Mad Hands' (novella)
  • 1982
    • 'The Boy Who Waterskied to Forever' (short story)
  • 1983
    • 'Beyond the Dead Reef' (novelette)
  • 1985
    • 'Morality Meat' (novelette, under the name Racoona Sheldon)
    • 'The Only Neat Thing to Do' (novella)
    • 'All This and Heaven Too' (novelette)
    • Byte Beautiful: 8 Science Fiction Stories (collection of eight stories, with an introduction by Michael Bishop
      Michael Bishop (author)

      Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning United States writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
      )
  • 1986
    • 'Our Resident Djinn' (short story)
    • 'Good Night, Sweethearts' (novella)
    • 'Collision' (novella)
    • The Starry Rift (collection of three stories)
    • Tales of the Quintana Roo (collection of three stories, set in the Yucatan peninsula)
  • 1987
    • 'Second Going' (novelette)
    • 'Yanqui Doodle' (novelette)
    • 'In Midst of Life' (novelette)
  • 1988
    • 'Backward, Turn Backward' (novella)
    • 'The Earth Doth Like a Snake Renew'(novellette)
    • 'The Color of Neanderthal Eyes' (novella)
    • Crown of Stars (collection of nine previously published stories, plus one new story:)
      • 'Come Live with Me' (novelette)
  • 1990
    • Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
      Her Smoke Rose Up Forever

      Her Smoke Rose Up Forever is a collection of Science fiction and Fantasy fiction stories by author James Tiptree, Jr.. It was released in 1990 in literature by Arkham House....
       (collection of 18 stories, with an introduction by John Clute
      John Clute

      John Frederick Clute is a Canada born author and critic who has lived in United Kingdom since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
      )
  • 1996
    • Neat Sheets: The Poetry of James Tiptree, Jr. (collection of 19 previously unpublished poems and a short play, with an introduction by Karen Joy Fowler)
  • 2000
    • Meet Me at Infinity (a collection of three stories and 35 essays and articles, with an introduction by Jeffrey D. Smith, including two previously unpublished stories:)
    • 'The Trouble Is Not in Your Set' (short story)
    • 'Trey of Hearts' (short story)


Novels

  • Up the Walls of the World
    Up the Walls of the World

    Up the Walls of the World is a 1978 science fiction novel by the United States author Alice Sheldon who wrote under the pen name of James Tiptree, Jr....
     (1978)
  • Brightness Falls from the Air (1985)


Other collections

  • Neat Sheets: The Poetry of James Tiptree, Jr. (1996)
  • Meet Me at Infinity (a collection of previously uncollected and unpublished fiction, essays and other non-fiction, with much biographical information, edited by Tiptree's friend Jeffrey D. Smith) (2000)


Adaptations

  • "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?
    Houston, Houston, Do You Read?

    "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" is a novella by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1976 and a Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1977....
    " (1990) - radio drama for the National Public Radio
    National Public Radio

    National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national Radio syndication to 797 public radio List of NPR stations in the United States....
     series Sci-Fi Radio. Originally aired as two half-hour shows, February 4 & 11.
  • "Yanqui Doodle" (1990) - half-hour radio drama for the National Public Radio
    National Public Radio

    National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national Radio syndication to 797 public radio List of NPR stations in the United States....
     series Sci-Fi Radio. Aired March 18.
  • "The Girl Who Was Plugged In
    The Girl Who Was Plugged In

    '"The Girl Who Was Plugged In" is a science fiction short story by James Tiptree, Jr, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon. It won a Hugo Award in 1974....
    " (1998) - television film for the series Welcome to Paradox
  • "Weird Romance" (1992) - Off-Broadway
    Off-Broadway

    Off Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of Play , musical theater or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattan's Theatre District, New York, the hub of the theater industry in the United States, the term later becam...
     musical
    Musical theatre

    Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece ? humor, pathos, love, anger ? as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole....
     by Alan Menken
    Alan Menken

    Alan Menken is an United States musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with several renowned lyricists including Howard Ashman , Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz ....
    . Act 1 is based on "The Girl Who Was Plugged In
    The Girl Who Was Plugged In

    '"The Girl Who Was Plugged In" is a science fiction short story by James Tiptree, Jr, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon. It won a Hugo Award in 1974....
    ".
  • "The Screwfly Solution
    The Screwfly Solution

    "The Screwfly Solution" is a 1977 science fiction short story by Raccoona Sheldon, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon, who was better known by her other nom de plume, James Tiptree, Jr....
    " (2006) - television film for the series Masters of Horror


Major awards

  • Hugo Award
    Hugo Award

    The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories....
    s: 1974 (Best Novella, "The Girl Who Was Plugged In
    The Girl Who Was Plugged In

    '"The Girl Who Was Plugged In" is a science fiction short story by James Tiptree, Jr, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon. It won a Hugo Award in 1974....
    ") and 1977 (Best Novella, "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?
    Houston, Houston, Do You Read?

    "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" is a novella by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1976 and a Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1977....
    ")
  • Nebula Award
    Nebula Award

    The Nebula Award is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years ....
    s: 1973 (Short Story, "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death
    Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death

    "Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death" is a short story by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Short Story in 1973.The story is unusual in that it involves no human characters, but is told entirely from the perspective of a giant spider-like creature....
    "), 1976 (Novella, "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?
    Houston, Houston, Do You Read?

    "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" is a novella by James Tiptree, Jr. . It won a Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1976 and a Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1977....
    ") and 1977 (Novelette, "The Screwfly Solution
    The Screwfly Solution

    "The Screwfly Solution" is a 1977 science fiction short story by Raccoona Sheldon, a pen name for psychologist Alice Sheldon, who was better known by her other nom de plume, James Tiptree, Jr....
    ", published under the pseudonym Raccoona Sheldon.)
  • World Fantasy Award
    World Fantasy Award

    The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy....
    : 1987 for the collection Tales of the Quintana Roo
  • Locus Award
    Locus Award

    The Locus Awards were established in 1971 and are presented to winners of Locus 's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet....
    : 1984 (short story) 'Beyond the Dead Reef', and 1986 (novella) 'The Only Neat Thing to Do'
  • Science Fiction Chronicle Award: 1986 (novella) 'The Only Neat Thing to Do'
  • Jupiter Award
    Jupiter Award

    The Jupiters were an annual award presented to science fiction writing infrequently between 1974 and 1978. The awards for the best novel, novella, novelette and short story were presented by the Instructors of Science Fiction in Higher Education....
    : 1977 (novella) 'Houston, Houston, Do You Read?'


Further reading

  • Julie Phillips: James Tiptree, Jr: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon (2006) (St. Martin's Press
    St. Martin's Press

    St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the iconic Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St....
    ) ISBN 0-312-20385-3. A thorough biography, with insight into Sheldon's life and work. Extensive quotation from her correspondence, journals, and other papers. Times Literary Supplement review
  • Julie Phillips: "Dear Starbear: Letters Between Ursula K. Le Guin
    Ursula K. Le Guin

    Ursula Kroeber Le Guin is an United States author. She has written novels, poetry, children's literature books, essays, and short story, most notably in the fantasy and science fiction genres....
     and James Tiptree Jr." in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
    The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction

    The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction is a digest size American fantasy fiction magazine and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House and then by Fantasy House....
    , September 2006 issue.
  • The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 edited by Karen Joy Fowler
    Karen Joy Fowler

    Karen Joy Fowler is an United States author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and Social alienation....
    , Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith.
  • The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 edited by Karen Joy Fowler
    Karen Joy Fowler

    Karen Joy Fowler is an United States author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and Social alienation....
    , Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith.
  • The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 edited by Karen Joy Fowler
    Karen Joy Fowler

    Karen Joy Fowler is an United States author of science fiction, fantasy, and literary fiction. Her work often centers on the nineteenth century, the lives of women, and Social alienation....
    , Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith.


External links

Biographical references* at the James Tiptree, Jr. World Wide Website
Resources
  • Sparks, Elisa Kay, Dr. (not updated since 1997)
  • Lowry Pei.
  • Aparta Krystian. Master's thesis exploring conceptual blending
    Conceptual blending

    Conceptual Blending is a general theory of cognition. According to this theory, elements and vital relations from diverse scenarios are "blended" in a subconscious process known as Conceptual Blending, which is assumed to be ubiquitous to everyday thought and language....
     in time travel, with case studies of four stories by James Tiptree, Jr. ("Backward! Turn Backward!," "Fault," "Forever to a Hudson Bay Blanket," and "The Man Who Walked Home") and the novel Brightness Falls.


On-line Fiction
  • Text of the short story
  • Text of the short story
  • Text of the short story
  • Text of the short story
  • Text of the short story
  • Pdf containing both short stories