James Tiptree, Jr. Award

2007-04-14T17:39:09Z

4.153.11.183: /* Winners */

The '''James Tiptree, Jr. Award''' is an annual literary prize for works of [[science fiction]] or [[fantasy]] that expand or explore our understanding of [[gender|gender]]. It was initiated in February of 1991 by authors [[Pat Murphy]] and [[Karen Joy Fowler]], subsequent to a discussion at [[WisCon]] (then the world's only [[feminism|feminist]]-oriented [[science fiction convention]]).

The award is named for [[James Tiptree, Jr.|Alice B. Sheldon]], who wrote under the pseudonym [[James Tiptree, Jr.]] By choosing a masculine ''nom de plume,'' having her stories accepted under that name and winning awards with them, Sheldon helped demonstrate that the division between male and female SF writing was illusory. Years after "Tiptree" first published SF, Sheldon wrote some work under the female pen name "Raccoona Sheldon"; later, the SF world discovered that "Tiptree" had been female all along. According to the Tiptree Award council, this discovery led to widespread discussion over which aspects of writing, if any, have an intrinsic gender. To remind audiences of the complicated role gender plays in both reading and writing, the award was named in Sheldon's honor.

Fundraising efforts for the Tiptree have included publications, auctions, and feminist bake sales.

==Discussion==

The Tiptree Award is one of the few awards that embodies science fiction-ness in its award process. It's not a popularity contest; it's not an award for literary quality; it's not an award based on sales. It's an award for "exploring" a concept -- a fundamentally science fictional thing to do. Popularity and attention to a work give it impact; literary quality makes it possible to deliver the exploration and make it work. But the science fictional notion of ''exploration'' is at the heart of the Tiptree Award.

== Winners ==
*2006 ''[[The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden]]'' by [[Catherynne M. Valente]] and ''[[Half Life]]'' by [[Shelley Jackson]]; with special recognition for [[Julie Phillips]] biography of [[James Tiptree, Jr.]], ''[[James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon]]''.
*2005: ''[[Air (novel)|Air]]'' by [[Geoff Ryman]]
*2004: ''[[Camouflage (book)|Camouflage]]'' by [[Joe Haldeman]] and ''[[Not Before Sundown]]'' by [[Johanna Sinisalo]]
*2003: ''[[Set This House In Order|Set This House In Order: A Romance Of Souls]]'' by [[Matt Ruff]]
*2002: ''[[Light (novel)|Light]]'' by [[M. John Harrison]] and "[[Stories for Men]]" by [[John Kessel]]
*2001: ''[[The Kappa Child]]'' by [[Hiromi Goto]]
*2000: ''[[Wild Life]]'' by [[Molly Gloss]]
*1999: ''[[The Conqueror's Child]]'' by [[Suzy McKee Charnas]]
*1998: "[[Congenital Agenesis of Gender Ideation]]" by [[Raphael Carter]]
*1997: ''[[Black Wine]]'' by [[Candas Jane Dorsey]] and "[[Travels With The Snow Queen]]" by [[Kelly Link]]
*1996: "[[Mountain Ways]]" by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], and ''[[The Sparrow]]'' by [[Mary Doria Russell]]
*1995: ''[[Waking The Moon]]'' by [[Elizabeth Hand]] and ''[[The Memoirs Of Elizabeth Frankenstein]]'' by [[Theodore Roszak]]
*1994: "[[The Matter of Seggri]]" by [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] and ''[[Larque on the Wing]]'' by [[Nancy Springer]]
*1993: ''[[Ammonite (novel)|Ammonite]]'' by [[Nicola Griffith]]
*1992: ''[[China Mountain Zhang]]'' by [[Maureen F. McHugh]]
*1991: ''[[A Woman of the Iron People]]'' by [[Eleanor Arnason]], and ''[[White Queen]]'' by [[Gwyneth Jones]]
* Retrospective Award:
: [[Suzy McKee Charnas]], ''[[Motherlines]]'' and ''[[Walk to the End of the World]]'';
: [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], [[The Left Hand of Darkness]];
: [[Joanna Russ]], "[[When It Changed]]" (in ''[[Again, Dangerous Visions]]'') and ''[[The Female Man]]''

==Anthologies==

* ''[[Flying Cups and Saucers]]''
* ''[[The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1]]''
* ''[[The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2]]''
* ''[[The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3]]''

== External links ==
* [http://www.tiptree.org/ James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council]
* [http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue22/tiptree.html "On James Tiptree, Alice Sheldon and bake sales", by Karen Joy Fowler]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiptree Jr. Award, James}}
[[category:1991 establishments]]
[[Category:Awards named after women]]
[[category:Gender-Themed Awards]]
[[category:SF awards]]
[[category:Tiptree]]

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James Tiptree, Jr. Award