James Tiptree Jr. | The Stiletto Gang

When a headline popped up in my feed two months ago, I did something I rarely do. I immediately clicked on. I was intrigued by the title, The Girl Who was Plugged In.

My plan was simply to explain the gist of the 1973 science fiction novella about a disabled fifteen-year-old girl who agrees to remotely control a genetically engineered fifteen-year-old girl and use it to influence the masses in a dystopian world—when advertising is illegal.

Then I planned to share that according to the entertainment magazine, Deadline, Jennifer Kent (The Babadook) has agreed to write and direct the film. So far, though, to my knowledge, there is no release date.

So that was that. Not much of a blog. Until the more I read, I found the author equally if not more intriguing.

The Girl who was Plugged In was written by James Tiptree, Jr., who won the prestigious Hugo award for the story in 1974. I further learned that Tiptree is a pseudonym for author, artist and Air Force veteran Alice B. Sheldon. Tiptree (Sheldon) chose the pen name for various reasons but also to compete in the male-dominated science fiction field.

Tiptree/Sheldon’s list of literary awards is numerous. This multifaceted woman was also an artist, participating in group shows at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Alice B. Sheldon passed away in 1978. Tiptree’s Wikipedia page expands on his/her life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Tiptree_Jr.

Julie Phillips, a critic and award-winning biographer wrote Tiptree’s biography, and won a National Book Critics Circle Award in 2006. I recently found the book and purchased it on Amazon. After reading Tiptree’s Wikipedia page, as well as the following book description, I think it’s evident why Ms. Sheldon chose a pseudonym. I look forward to reading James Tiptree, Jr., The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, and learning more about this remarkable woman.

About the Book:

“Phillips’s superb depiction [of] the woman behind the persona of science-fiction writer James Tiptree is an extraordinary achievement.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year
A Washington Post Book World Best Book of the Year
One of Entertainment Weekly‘s 10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Year
Alice Bradley Sheldon was born in Chicago in 1915. As a child, she crossed Africa with her explorer parents. Later she became a painter, a CIA agent, a psychologist, and at age fifty-one made yet another career change.
James Tiptree, Jr., appeared on the science fiction scene in 1967. His stories were fast-paced and hard-boiled, his letters frank and sensitive. For nearly ten years he carried on intimate correspondences with fellow writers Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, and Ursula K. Le Guin. But no one knew who he really was. Then, assumptions about writing and gender were demolished when “he” was revealed to be Alice B. Sheldon.
Based on extensive research and full access to Sheldon’s papers, James Tiptree, Jr., is the suspenseful, engrossing, and tragic biography of a profoundly original writer and woman far ahead of her time.
“An incredible life, done elegant justice. Tiptree-Sheldon is one of the century’s astonishing figures.” —Jonathan Lethem, bestselling author of The Fortress of Solitude
“Fascinating . . . May make you rethink your ideas about what it means to be male or female—or, for that matter, human.” —Francine Prose, O, The Oprah Magazine
“The meticulous, emotionally intelligent biography of an extraordinary writer.” —William Gibson

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