James Tiptree was the pseudonym of Anne Bradley Sheldon, who also published under the alias Racoona Sheldon. A science fiction author of note, Sheldon worked for the U.S. Army Air Force in WWII, attaining the rank of major, and as an intelligence analyst for the CIA. She left this career in 1952 to return to college, earning degrees from American University (BA, 1959) and George Washington University (PhD in Psychology, 1967).
The Tiptree name came from a label on a jar of marmalade. Sheldon stated in an interview, “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.” Her true identity and gender was not revealed until 1976.
Sheldon was the author of ten collections of short fiction, two novels, and one book of poems. Her books include Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home (1973), Tales of the Quintana Roo (1986), and Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (1990). She won two Hugo Awards, and three Nebula Awards, among other honors. Her stories “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” (1990) and “Yanqui Doodle” (1990) were adapted into radio dramas by National Public Radio and her story “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” was adapted by Alan Menken into a 1992 Off-Broadway musical and a 1998 television film. Her story “The Screwfly Solution” was made into a 2011 television film.
She lived at this address from 1952 to 1959, then moved with her husband to a house in McLean, VA.
The Homes
4301 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC (Greenbriar Apartments)
James Tiptree, Jr.
4301 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Located in Cathedral Heights neighborhood, Northwest- West of Rock Creek