Education

In Summer 2024, I got the opportunity to go to Oregon University and conduct archival research on Science Fiction writer Alice B. Sheldon, or better known as James Tiptree Jr. who created her pen name after a grocery trip and spotting a Tiptree preserves jar.

Sheldon wrote under her pseudonym for 10 years in the 1970s without anyone ever suspecting that Tiptree was actually a woman– when her identity was exposed, the science fiction community (which was largely male-dominated) was stunned as Sheldon had demonstrated a convincingly “masculine” writing style. The revelation not only led readers and authors to confront their own assumptions about gender and authorship, but it enhanced appreciation for her work and made huge contributions to the science fiction community for female authors.

Sheldon’s stories are still powerfully relevant today through their exploration of gender, sex, death, and humanity. The Otherwise Award (formerly called the James Tiptree Jr. Literary Award) celebrates works of science fiction that explore and expand understanding of gender.