Last November, after the disastrous U.S. election results, I resigned from the Tiptree Award motherboard. I have been involved with the award from immediately following Pat Murphy and Karen Joy Fowler’s creation of it more than a quarter of a century ago.
I remain deeply committed to the goals and work of the Tiptree Award. When I was trying to make this difficult decision, several people pointed out to me that the work of supporting transgressive artists is resistance, and I agree wholeheartedly. I just feel personally that it’s time for me to put my energy into other kinds of resistance and response.
Everyone on the motherboard and in the Tiptree organizing community has been completely and unambiguously supportive of my decision and this is my opportunity to thank them for everything they do, which is prodigious. It’s taken six months to write this letter to you partly because there’s been a lot to disentangle (and we’re still disentangling) and partly because part of me wants to stay centrally involved with this community that I love and admire so much.
I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be missing WisCon this year for the first time since we presented the very first Tiptree Award in Madison for reasons unrelated to the Tiptree Award, I fully expect to be back next year, and I eagerly await everyone’s con reports. I’ll miss seeing so many of you!
I’ve established a personal Twitter account (@SpicejarDebbie) and will be following the Tiptree Award (of course!), so you can find me there,
Let’s keep changing the world together.