Otherwise Award

Background

Choice of the Tiptree name

By choosing a masculine nom de plume, having her stories accepted under that name and winning awards with them, Alice Sheldon helped demonstrate that the division between male and female science fiction writing was illusory. Years after "Tiptree" first published science fiction, Sheldon wrote some work under the female pen name "Raccoona Sheldon"; later, the science fiction world discovered that "Tiptree" had been female all along. This discovery led to widespread discussion over which aspects of writing, if any, have an intrinsic gender. To remind audiences of the role gender plays in both reading and writing, the award was named in Sheldon's honor at the suggestion of Karen Joy Fowler.

Controversy and name change

In 2019, controversy arose over the appropriateness of naming an award after Tiptree. In 1987, Alice Sheldon shot and killed her ailing husband Huntington Sheldon before killing herself in the same manner. Although some have called the killing a "suicide pact" based on Sheldon's personal writings, others characterize the act as "caregiver murder"—i.e., the murder of a disabled person by the person responsible for caring for them. In light of these allegations, the Tiptree Motherboard received requests to change the name of the award. On September 2, 2019, in response to these requests, the Motherboard made a statement that "a change to the name of the Tiptree Award is [not] warranted now"; but nine days later, on September 11, they announced that the award "can't go on under its existing name".

On October 13, 2019, the Tiptree Motherboard released an announcement stating that the Tiptree Award would become the Otherwise Award. The name refers to "the act of imagining gender otherwise" at the core of what the award has always honored, as well as being "wise to the experience of being the other". The title also draws from the Black queer scholarship of Ashon Crawley around what is termed "otherwise politics". According to the statement, "Otherwise means finding different directions to move in—toward newly possible places, by means of emergent and multiple pathways and methods."

Administration

The Tiptree award is administered by the Tiptree "Motherboard".

Fundraising efforts for the Tiptree have included publications (two cookbooks), "feminist bake sales", and auctions. The Tiptree cookbook The Bakery Men Don't See, edited by WisCon co-founder Jeanne Gomoll, was nominated for a 1992 Hugo Award. Tiptree Award juries traditionally consist of four female and one male juror (the "token man"). The auctions were one of the keynote events of WisCon, and they were run by author Ellen Klages from their inception in 1994 until 2016. A variety of items were auctioned, ranging from signed first editions of art or written works by SF luminaries and authors, such as Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Suzette Haden Elgin, Freddie Baer, and many others, to quirky items with some connection to feminism, science fiction, or fandom, such as a hand-knitted uteruses created by Klages, letters, photos, memorabilia, toys, and art. Artist Freddie Baer produced an annual collage, which was printed on t-shirts and posters, in support of the organization.

In 2011, the Tiptree Motherboard received the Science Fiction Research Association's Thomas D. Clareson Award for Distinguished Service for its "outstanding service activities – promotion of SF teaching and study, editing, reviewing, editorial writing, publishing, organizing meetings, mentoring, and leadership in SF/fantasy organizations".

Anthologies

Selections of the winners, various short-listed fiction, and essays have appeared in four Tiptree-related collections, Flying Cups and Saucers (1999) and a series of annual anthologies published by Tachyon Publications of San Francisco. These include:

• Flying Cups and Saucers: Gender Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by the Secret Feminist Cabal and Debbie Notkin (1999)
• The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith (2005)
• The James Tiptree Award Anthology 2 edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith (2006)
• The James Tiptree Award Anthology 3 edited by Karen Joy Fowler, Pat Murphy, Debbie Notkin, and Jeffrey D. Smith (2007)

Winners

Main article: List of Otherwise Award winners

References

References

1. (April 2016). "2015 Winners, Honor List, and Long List Announced!".
2. Hartman, Jed. (August 16, 2024). "New directions for the Otherwise Award".
3. Lothian, Alexis. (September 2, 2019). "Alice Sheldon and the name of the Tiptree Award".
4. Lothian, Alexis. (October 13, 2019). "From Tiptree to Otherwise « James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award".
5. (May 12, 2015). "Motherboard « James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award".
6. Merrick, Helen. ''The Secret Feminist Cabal: A Cultural History of Science Fiction Feminisms'' {{ISBN. 978-1-933500-33-1 Seattle: Aqueduct Press, 2009; pp. 172–176
7. (November 10, 2016). "Ellen Klages Steps Down from Motherboard".
8. "A History of WisCon".
9. "Contribute to the auction".
10. "Store".
11. [http://www.locusmag.com/News/2011/08/tiptree-motherboard-receives-clareson-award/ "Tiptree Motherboard Receives Clareson Award"] {{Webarchive. link. (August 8, 2017 [[Locus (magazine)). ''Locus Online'']] August 29, 2011
12. (April 26, 2009). "Tiptree Award Winners".
13. "2010 Tiptree Award Winner Announced!". James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council.
14. (March 21, 2011). "2010 Tiptree Award Winner".
15. "2011 Tiptree Award Winner announced.". James Tiptree, Jr. Literary Award Council.
16. (March 5, 2013). "Kiernan and Salaam Win Tiptree Awards".
17. (April 4, 2015). "Tiptree Awards Winners Announced: Byrne and Walton".
18. (March 14, 2017). "McLemore Wins 2016 Tiptree Award".
19. (December 2016). "2017 James Tiptree, Jr. Award".
20. (March 14, 2018). "Bergin Wins 2017 Tiptree Award".
21. (March 25, 2019). "Miravete Wins 2018 Tiptree Award".
22. (April 13, 2020). "Emezi Wins 2019 Otherwise Award".
23. (September 7, 2021). "Ekpeki Wins 2020 Otherwise Award".
24. Lothian, Alexis. (January 17, 2023). "Ryka Aoki and Rivers Solomon win 2021 Otherwise Award! Honor List announced".
25. (January 19, 2023). "2021 Otherwise Award Winners".
26. (December 14, 2021). "2022 Otherwise Award".
27. (December 19, 2022). "2023 Otherwise Award".
28. Hartman, Jed. (May 6, 2025). "Announcing the 2024 Otherwise Award winners!".