The Tombs of Atuan

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was a respected American science fiction and fantasy author. She is best known for her fantasy series The Earthsea Cycle, science fiction series The Hainish Cycle, and short story “Those Who Walk Away From Omelas” (1973). She also wrote many other novels, novellas, and short stories, as well as poetry, essays, and literary criticism.

Le Guin was born in California to author Theodora Kroeber and anthropologist Alfred Louis Kroeber. She earned a master’s degree in French and married historian Charles Le Guin in 1953. She began writing in the late 1950s, publishing her first short story in 1962 and her first novel, A Wizard of Earthsea in 1968. Many critics regard A Wizard of Earthsea and The Left Hand of Darkness (the fourth novel in her Hainish Cycle) as her masterpieces. The Left Hand of Darkness was adapted for the stage in 1995, and her novel The Lathe of Heaven has twice been adapted for film. The Earthsea Cycle has inspired two film adaptations.

Le Guin’s work is influenced by cultural anthropology, Taoism, Indigenous folklore, feminism, and the work of bestselling science fiction author Philip K.