Tiptree winner and shortlist

[redbird]

I can now tell you all that we selected Matt Ruff's Set This House in Order as the winner of the 2003 Tiptree Award. The press release, including comments on Ruff's book and our shortlist, is at http://www.tiptree.org/press/20040330.html.

We're still finishing the long list, and we need to write a bit about why we picked what we did for the shortlist. brisingamen, I'd be happy to write about Fudoki, and could probably at least help with several of the others.

Comments

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

i'd love to hear people's thoughts on _monstrous regiment_, by pratchett. the one i live with told me he'd nominated it, and i told him i didn't think it would win, but i couldn't explain why.

This one I can answer

[redbird]

Basically, the recommendation came in too late for our excellent procurer to get the book in time. Thus, I'm the only person on the jury who read it (the one I live with is a big Pratchett fan, and bought a copy). We're passing the recommendation on to next year's jury (standard Tiptree procedure for things published very late in the year that the jury doesn't have time/opportunity to look at).

Had we discussed it, I'd be hesitant to say anything about those discussions, because they're confidential--as it is, I can say that I think it's definitely doing Tiptreeish things with gender-as-performance. Also, I think a lot of people underestimate Pratchett, because they read early Discworld books, deemed them lightweight (a reasonable judgment: if you don't like the style of humor in the first books, there's not much else there for you), and assumed that he's still doing the same sort of thing, since it's the same setting and some of the same characters.

[jerrykaufman.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the announcement and link. Interesting - I know three of the judges this year. Nisi is on the Clarion West board of directors and is a frequent Vanguard attendee.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

Holy Fuck...Matt Ruff has a 3rd book out???
I've been waiting for this since his 2nd (which I bought in hardcover and can't find anymore. :( )

(BTW, the final paper apa-nu colation is tomorrow...just thought you'd like to know.)

Hmm...

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

So, I've just finished Set This House In Order - yes, it's 5:30 in the morning.

I really really enjoyed it. It was tough at times, it was well told, it was moving, it even had a good ending. I'm very happy to have read it, will be buying my own copy when I have a job and money again, and continue to look forward to his NEXT book.

But...

It wasn't Science Fiction. It wasn't Fantasy. "The Tiptree Award is presented annually to a work that explores and expands gender roles in science fiction and fantasy." I'm having a problem with this.

I know that the definition of F&SF has expanded over the years, half to try to escape the genre ghetto, half to tell new stories...but this was not F nor SF. It was 'a novel'. It was 'fiction'. It was GOOD fiction...it had interesting and thought provoking things to say about gender roles.

But it shouldn't have won the Tiptree.

What am I missing from y'all's thinking?