Sex and the Signature

Have you ever wondered how or why many female authors have written under male or gender-neutral pseudonyms? As it turns out, there are quite a few.

James Tiptree Jr. (1915-1987) was the pen name of Alice Bradley Sheldon, American sci-fi author. According to Tiptree’s biography, she was notable for breaking down the barriers between writing perceived as inherently male or female. In fact, it wasn’t until 1977 that readers knew Tiptree was a woman.

Another interesting example is J. K. Rowling. Having no middle name, her first Harry Potter book was published under the name Joanne Rowling. But before publishing her first book in the U.S., her publisher Bloomsbury was concerned that the target audience (young boys) might not buy books by a female author. The company recommended Rowling use two initials instead of her first name. Rowling chose K. for Kathleen, the name of her paternal grandmother.

The consideridation of pairing genre with pen name spurred me to ask a couple of my favorite contemporary authors why they write under their current nom de plumes.

T.K. Kenyon, author of Rabid and Callous

“I’ve been “T.K.” on and off for years, starting in 6th grade where there were 3 “Terri’s” in my home room and two of us got to choose new names. As I had been tagged with a diminutive (my given name is “Terri,” not even “Teresa,”) I went to initials.

When I graduated from undergrad with a bachelor’s in science (microbiology) and was looking for a job, I was told by friends and older people in science to use my initials on my resume because it was harder to get a job in science if you put a female name on a resume. (This was about 15 years ago, but it’s still true.”

Most of my other women friends in science also used initials. Women who sent out initialed resumes got more interviews and better jobs, both because they had more interviews to pick from and, very probably, because they were perceived as less “girlie.” In the scientific fields that I have worked in, and in the West in general, squeamishness and prissiness do not make a good job candidate.

When I did my PhD in virology, I went to “T.K.” for good, even in my personal life. Close friends and my husband abbreviate my initials to “Teke” if they are too lazy to wrap their lips around two whole letters.

In the writing field, using anonymous initials is less jarring to the reader when I write from both a male and female point of view.”

Rosemary Poole-Carter, author of Women of Magdalene

“For my first novel, WHAT REMAINS, I chose to write under my first initial and last name (though my photo on the back of the book was something of a gender giveaway). I reasoned that my very feminine first name might be associated in readers’ minds with romance fiction. There are some romantic elements in my work, but I don’t write category romances and don’t want to mislead book buyers. I write historical novels with some rather dark Southern gothic touches.

For WOMEN OF MAGDALENE, a novel that deals with misogyny in a 19th century ladies’ lunatic asylum, I decided to brazen things out under my own full name as a woman writing from the point of view of a male protagonist. Time to get past those outdated notions about what male and female authors are allowed to write.

I understand the point of a writer having different non de plumes for different types of books–one for the mystery series and one for the horror or romance or nonfiction. That’s sort of a branding device. But at this point in my life, I don’t really foresee my having the time to write multiple types of books. For now, each book is a piece of my heart, claimed with my own name.”

Other famous female writers and their first or career-long pen names:

Charlotte Bronte Currer Bell

Mary Ann Evans George Eliot

Louisa May Alcott A.M. Barnard

Antonia Susan Duffy A.S. Duffy

Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin George Sand

Lula Carson Smith Carson McCullers

Phyllis Dorothy Jones P.D. Jones

Ann Rule Andy Stack

Karen Harrington is the author of JANEOLOGY, story of one man’s struggle to understand his wife’s sudden descent into madness. (April 2008) www.karenharringtonbooks.com