Following the successful debut of the series, this second serving of innovative storytelling continues to celebrate thought-provoking and provocative speculative fiction. Touching on the most fundamental of human desires—sex, love, and the need for acceptance—Tiptree Award–winning authors continually challenge and redefine social identities, simultaneously exploring and expanding gender. James Tiptree, Jr. was the pseudonym of Alice Bradley Sheldon, whose lasting contributions to the genre are honored every year with the award. This collection gathers short fiction and essays that were chosen by the Tiptree Award judges in 2004, as well as additional selections from previous years. Contributors include Raphael Carter, L. Timmel Duchamp, Carol Emshwiller, Eileen Gunn, Joe Haldeman, Nalo Hopkinson, Gwyneth Jones, Jaye Lawrence, Ursula K. Le Guin, Jonathan Lethem, Debbie Notkin, Julie Phillips, Johanna Sinsalo, and Leslie What.