Ursula K. Le Guin
LightNews LightNews
banner
ursulakleguin.com
Ursula K. Le Guin
@ursulakleguin.com
31K followers 73 following 410 posts
Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was a celebrated author of novels, children’s books, poetry and essays. This account is managed by her estate.

https://www.ursulakleguin.com/
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
ursulakleguin.com
Ursula K. Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com · Oct 21
Congratulations to Vajra Chandrasekera (@vajra.me), recipient of the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction for Rakesfall!

Chandrasekera's book was chosen by authors Matt Bell, Indra Das, Kelly Link, Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Rebecca Roanhorse.
Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera, with the Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction sticker on the cover Vajra Chandrasekera, photo by Sanjeewa Weerasinghe. The author sits at a white table, arms resting in front of him, wearing a tan jacket and a white shirt.
ursulakleguin.com
"The team found that among these vaunted writers — including Morrison, Viet Thanh Nguyen, David Foster Wallace and Joan Didion — science fiction was particularly popular. Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia E. Butler topped the list."
UW researchers analyzed which anthologized writers and books get checked out the most from Seattle Public Library
UW researchers analyzed the checkout data from the last 20 years of the 93 authors included in the post-1945 volume of “The Norton Anthology of American Literature,” which is assigned in U.S....
www.washington.edu
January 9, 2026 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
minotaurolibros.bsky.social
Nuestra colección #MinotauroBibliotecasDeAutor seguirá creciendo este mes con #ElLugarDelComienzo, una fábula emocional sobre la madurez, la identidad y el poder transformador de lo imaginario, escrita por la inigualable @ursulakleguin.com.

📕 https://f.mtr.cool/qhvfwebpai

#fantasía #cienciaficción
January 9, 2026 at 12:24 PM
ursulakleguin.com
Photo by Mario Gallucci Studio, courtesy of Oregon Contemporary.
January 8, 2026 at 7:46 PM
ursulakleguin.com
This Saturday, 1/10, join lead curator Theo Downes-Le Guin for an exhibition walkthough of A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin at Oregon Contemporary. The walkthough will be followed by a Q&A and community reading featuring selections from Changing Planes.

www.oregoncontemporary.org/a-larger-rea...
A close up photograph of part of the Mother Oak, the tree at the center of Oregon Contemporary's exhibition A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin. The tree holds a selection of Ursula's work for visitors to peruse, and also has recordings of her reading.
January 8, 2026 at 7:44 PM
ursulakleguin.com
Catwings then (Orchard Books, 1988) and now (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2023).

(There may be a cat hair or two on the background surface; in this instance that seems appropriate.)
Two copies of Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin with illustrations by S.D. Schindler; the original cover has a pale yellow border around the art, and Ursula's name appears before the book title. The second has "A Catwings Tale" across the top, above the title, and Ursula's name below. Both covers show four tabby cats with wings perched on a branch.
January 5, 2026 at 8:51 PM
ursulakleguin.com
Cover design and illustration by Jim Tierney.
Jim Tierney
Book cover design, illustration, and hand-lettering by Jim Tierney.
www.jim-tierney.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:43 PM
ursulakleguin.com
“To be free, after all, is not to be undisciplined.”

—“Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?”

This edition of The Language of the Night was published in 2024 by Scribner.
The Language of the Night: Essays on Writing, Science Fiction, and Fantasy, by Ursula K. Le Guin, with a new introduction by Ken Liu. This edition shows the author's name in yellow, the title in pink, and between them a stylized dragon (in blue) holding a simple rocket (in pink).
January 2, 2026 at 5:20 PM
ursulakleguin.com
We see what you did there, Pluribus.
A screenshot of Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka in Pluribus. She's sitting on a poolside lounger and looks pensive as she looks up from reading The Left Hand of Darkness.
December 28, 2025 at 5:40 PM
ursulakleguin.com
A seasonally relevant quote for today (posted during a break from the rain—which is not quite like warm soup, at least).
"It had always rained in western Oregon, but now it rained ceaselessly, steadily, tepidly. It was like living in a downpour of warm soup, forever." from The Lathe of Heaven, 1971
December 22, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
libraryofamerica.bsky.social
Not just a novelist, @ursulakleguin.com was also a cartographer. Her fictional geographies were on display this fall at London’s Architectural Association Gallery, and a companion book on Silver Press sheds new light on her peerless world-building. Read our interview with editor/curator Sarah Shin.
Maps and Legends: The Spectacular Cartography of Ursula K. Le Guin - Library of America
Mapmaking lay at the heart of Ursula K. Le Guin’s worldbuilding. An able illustrator whose subjects ranged from realist watercolors to cartoon cats, the author of such SFF classics as The Left Hand of...
www.loa.org
December 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM
ursulakleguin.com
A very colorful Swedish edition of The Dispossessed, circa 1976. Cover art by Per Åhlin.
In this translation, The Dispossessed is called SHEVEK. The cover shows a man in a green long-sleeved top with a sort of sash printed with a landscape of trees and a river. He is holding up four fingers in front of a globe. In the foreground is a woman with dark hair and a black top, who looks off to the side.
December 17, 2025 at 11:54 PM
ursulakleguin.com
It took a minute to find the right title for A Wizard of Earthsea.

(This text is from a letter Ursula wrote to Herman Schein and Ruth Robbins of Parnassus Press, the original publishers of A Wizard of Earthsea.)
This book is a fantasy of wizards, dragons, and shadows, played out in a world like and unlike this world, in an Archipelago of imagined islands. The geography of the dream is exact, as are the laws and limits of the magic used by the wizards in the isles. It is an adventure story, a Quest, a tale of a proud incautious boy who meddles too early with the Dark. It is a pure fantasy telling about real things: a boy coming into his power and his manhood, coming of age. Coming of Age in Earthsea, by Margaret Meade. -- I still find "A Wizard of the Isles" unsatisfactory as a title but more nearly satisfactory than any of the others. Except "I was a Teen-Age Wizard," which Krakie attributes to Herman. I do like that. Then we could have "Son of the Teen-Age Wizard--"
December 16, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
reactorsff.bsky.social
Ursula Le Guin's short story "Solitude" presents a fascinating counterpoint to the concept of the Happily Ever After ending, imagining alternative ways of thinking about the world, relationships, and the self:
“Avoid Magic”: Le Guin’s Case for “Solitude” in the Era of Romantasy - Reactor
Weighed against the narrative perfection of a Happily Ever After, can there be pleasure in remaining alone?
reactormag.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
ursulakleguin.com
Ursula had some edits to this 1974 edition of The Left Hand of Darkness. Understandable corrections, really.
The title page of a 1974 Ace Books edition of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin shows the title without the initial capital letter on "The" and Ursula's last name as one word. Handwritten notes read "why is "The" capped on cover and spine but not on title page? (should be capped)" and "Insert proper space in 'Le guin' throughout - cover, spine, front matter, backmatter, advertising, et cetera"
December 11, 2025 at 8:12 PM
ursulakleguin.com
We're delighted to see Fred Fordham's adaptation of A Wizard of Earthsea on Kirkus’s list of the year's best teen and YA graphic literature! www.kirkusreviews.com/book-lists/b...
A screenshot of Kirkus's list of the Best Teen & YA Graphic Literature of 2025 showing the cover of Fred Fordham's adaptation of A Wizard of Earthsea, which is described as "A beloved cornerstone of the genre brought vividly to life through striking illustrations"
December 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM
ursulakleguin.com
"A communal pickle barrel offers slow transformations to share" said the event description.

The Word for World's final day on view is Saturday, December 6th, so make your way over to the AA School if you're in the vicinity! (Sorry, no more pickles.)

Pickle jar photo by Elena-Andreea Teleaga.
AA School
Architectural Association School of Architecture's website homepage is the online entrance into the AA; to its courses from Foundation to PhD for undergraduate and postgraduate students; its open publ...
www.aaschool.ac.uk
December 5, 2025 at 10:52 PM
ursulakleguin.com
This memorable 2017 quote found its way to life in an event this fall that was part of The Word for World exhibition in London. As part of "Dream Maps: A birthday part for Ursula K. Le Guin," Rain Wu created an edible landscape inspired by Ursula's work.
TLS: If you could make a change to anything you’ve written over the years, what would it be? UKL: In The Dispossessed, I would mention the communal pickle barrels at street corners in the big towns, restocked by whoever in the community has made or kept more pickles than they need. I knew about the free pickles all along, but never could fit them into the book. Two jars, each containing an assortment of pickled vegetables, including carrots and peppers, stand proudly on a blue tablecloth. Green leaves holding round bites - unidentifiable from this angle - are scattered around them.
December 5, 2025 at 10:52 PM
ursulakleguin.com
"A book won't move your eyes for you the way images on a screen do. It won't move your mind unless you give it your mind, or your heart unless you put your heart in it."

—from "Staying Awake" (which originally appeared in Harper's and also appears in The Wild Girls, from PM Press)
A hardcover copy of Words Are My Matter: Writings About Life and Books 2000—2016 by Ursula K. Le Guin, which has a text-only cover that shows the title and author's name along with the quote "Hard times are coming. ... We'll need writers who can remember freedom."
December 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
portlandmercury.com
The new Ursula K. Le Guin exhibition at Oregon Contemporary is a sprawling love note to Portland's most far-out visionary.

The exhibition compiles her hand-drawn maps, and features a reproduction of her NW Thurman writing room... plus doodles of cats!!
Oregon Contemporary’s Le Guin Exhibition: Earthsea Maps, Cat Drawings, and a Full-Scale Reproduction of Her Writing Room
A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin isn’t a typical exhibition. Ursula Kroeber Le Guin wasn’t a typical artist. Curated by her son, Theo Downes-Le Guin, the new show installed at Oregon Contemporary i...
www.portlandmercury.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 AM
ursulakleguin.com
This very good rabbit (drawn by Ursula) is the first thing you see when you crack open A Larger Reality, the book created by Winter texts to accompany the exhibition of the same name.

(There are many very good Ursula drawings inside.)

www.wintertexts.com/catalog/p/a-...
The title page of Ursula K. Le Guin: A Larger Reality, which shows the book's title and a line drawing of a rabbit that gives a sense of scruffiness (perhaps it's the tail). The rabbit (which might be a hare; your humble social media manager has no details) has very big pointy ears and a very pointy nose.
November 25, 2025 at 10:32 PM
ursulakleguin.com
Who is ...
An image of a Jeopardy answer reads, "This sci-fi and fantasy author was honored on a 2021 stamp along with an image based on her 'The Left Hand of Darkness' novel"
November 20, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
tobiascarroll.bsky.social
Covered one more prose-to-comics adaptation in my comics review newsletter: Fred Fordham's retelling of @ursulakleguin.com's A Wizard of Earthsea. buttondown.com/komiksoj/arc...
An Epic Tale Expertly Retold: On “A Wizard of Earthsea”
Thoughts on Fred Fordham's graphic novel adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's "A Wizard of Earthsea"
buttondown.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
silver-press.bsky.social
3 December: Ursula K. Le Guin's Futures: Theo Downes-Le Guin @ursulakleguin.com in conversation with SF Said @whatsfsaid.bsky.social at Burley Fisher @burleyfisher.bsky.social
burleyfisherbooks.com/products/urs...
Ursula K. Le Guin's Futures: Theo Downes-Le Guin in conversation with SF Said
3rd December 6.30pm for 7pm Start In this special event, Theo Downes-Le Guin, Ursula K Le Guin’s son, literary executor and head of the Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation, discusses his work with his mother...
burleyfisherbooks.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:13 PM
ursulakleguin.com
“The island of Gont, a single mountain that lifts its peak a mile above the storm-wracked Northeast Sea, is a land famous for wizards.”

This 2005 Science Fiction Book Club edition of the first three Earthsea novels has cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.
This cover of the Earthsea Trilogy shows Tenar and Ged in a boat, with a golden dragon curling around the back of the image. Tenar, who is pale with dark hair, sits, holding closed a red cape with lavender trim. Ged, who holds a staff and wears an amulet around his neck, has somewhat darker skin and stands; light emanates from his staff. The boat has eyes painted on the prow.
November 17, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by Ursula K. Le Guin
orartswatch.org
An expansive exhibit at Oregon Contemporary, curated by the late, great Portland artist's son, opens up the speculative fiction writer's world and how she created new worlds in words.
‘A Larger Reality: Ursula K. Le Guin’ honors the work and the life of the iconic novelist • Oregon ArtsWatch
An expansive exhibit at Oregon Contemporary, curated by the late, great Portland artist's son, opens up the speculative fiction writer's world and how she created new worlds in words.
www.orartswatch.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:37 PM