Author:Ursula K. Le Guin

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This is an ISFDB Bibliographic Comments page for the author (or artist or editor) Ursula K. Le Guin. This page may be used for bibliographic comments or extended notes about the author, or discussion on how to the author's works are to be recorded . The link above leads to the ISFDB summary record for Ursula K. Le Guin. Please use Bio:Ursula K. Le Guin for a biographical sketch of this person. To discuss what should go on this page, use the talk page. For more on this and other header templates, see Header templates.

This is the Ursula K. Le Guin bibliography project. The project is divided into Titles, Series, Awards, Short Fiction, Pseudonyms and Miscellaneous.

Titles

For book length works, the following are outstanding tasks.

All Locus1 entries have been verified.
  • Identify any duplicates and merge any as appropriate.
  • Identify all variant titles and ensure all are correctly listed. Verify that the correct title is the parent.
  • Check that each title shows the correct first edition; if not, enter it from a bibliographic source if available.
  • Look for magazine serializations of the original works. If any are missing, entering the magazine is an outstanding task.
  • For a given title
    • Enter or verify any publications that you have access to; verify any that are entered.
    • Check any publication records against bibliographies
    • Review other sources of data such as booksellers and enter additional publication data from those; do not set the "verified" flag on these.

For publications note any verification done, either using the verification flags or on the publication specific wiki pages (linked from the publication page on the ISFDB) for other sources. For the titles, make a subsection below for each title, and a note in that subsection showing what verification you have done, any changes you have made, and any questions that remain for that title.

There is a bibliography in the back of "The Language of the Night"; it's by Jeff Levin in the earlier editions, but the latest edition in the ISFDB shows one by Lloyd Currey. It would be useful to check that against the ISFDB.

The Levin version is referred to below just as "Levin". "Currey1" refers to Currey's "SF and Fantasy Authors" bibliography, a separate and earlier work. If a copy of the later Currey biblio is obtained, refer to it below as Currey2.

Always Coming Home

Title link

An excerpt was published as "The Visionary", half of a Capra Press dos, in 1984, before ACH came out.

Locus1 lists this: "Always Coming Home (SFBC #045666, Feb ’86 [Mar ’86], $14.98, 525pp, pb) This is a false entry. Although listed as a book club edition, the copies we’ve seen are copies of the first edition (Harper & Row 1985) with book club distribution". We don't enter vapourware, so this is only noted here.

Locus1 lists a Bantam Spectra edition reprinted in Jan 1987; they don't state a reprint number. The first Bantam Spectra reprint was Jan 1986, so it's possible this is an error on their part. Both editions are in the ISFDB: here is the earlier one, which has been physically verified; here's the second, which has not.

Locus1 incorrectly lists the page count on the Gollancz £10.95 UK first hardcover as 544; it is 525.

All Locus1 data through 2004 has been entered for this title.

The Beginning Place/Threshold

Title link

Data for the Gollancz 1980 edition was entered from a price-clipped copy; I've marked it as verified but we still need the price from another copy.

This pub is probably entered from a copy of this one; the ISBN and price match despite the eleven-year gap.

This pub was probably entered from a later printing; the price and publisher are wrong for the date.

City of Illusions

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • Gollancz 1971. This is the first edition per Currey1.
  • Garland 1975
  • Harper & Row 1978 -- the ISFDB lists a 1978 HarperCollins, which may be the same; most likely it was entered from a later printing.

The Dispossessed

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1974 Harper & Row. There's a 1974 HarperCollins, which is probably entered from a later printing using the first printing date. This is the first edition per Currey1.
  • 1974 Gollancz.

Dreams Must Explain Themselves

title link I've entered this as a CHAPBOOK, though there is currently no support for chapbook display in the biblio screens.

Note that the entered publication is a limited edition version; according to Currey1 there is also a non-limited version, which is not entered in the ISFDB.

The Farthest Shore

title link The 13th Bantam printing has the following information about Atheneum and Bantam printings:

Atheneum:

  1. Sep 1972
  2. May 1973
  3. Aug 1974

In addition Locus1 gives a Jun 1991 9th printing.

Junior Literary Guild edition published Nov 1972

Bantam:

  1. Oct 75
  2. Nov 75
  3. Jan 76
  4. Jul 76
  5. Jul 76
  6. Dec 76
  7. Jun 77
  8. Nov 77
  9. Feb 78
  10. Oct 78
  11. Mar 79
  12. Jan 80

The 13th printing is not dated.

In addition Locus1 gives a 17th printing in July 1984.

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1972 Atheneum. This is the first edition per Currey1, who gives two states for the binding.
  • 1973 Gollancz
Per Locus1 the 5th printing is Aug 89 but is dated May 1989, incorrectly.
  • 1974 Puffin (second printing is in ISFDB)
  • 1975 Heinemann
  • 1975 Bantam (two later printings in ISFDB)
Map

The 4th printing Bantam Books paperback opens with a 2-page map of Earthsea identical in scope to the 2-page map that opens the 4th printing Bantam A Wizard of Earthsea --and thus almost identical in scope to the Earthsea map that Le Guin offers for download. See below, #Earthsea Map.

The Language of the Night

title link The 1982 Berkley edition has the following note at the end of p. 262:

"Note - new pg. Lo Pt about the Au. Copy to come-about the author."

Looks like an editing note left in by a less-than-alert typesetter. It would be interesting to know if an "About the author" section showed up in later printings.

The Lathe of Heaven

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • Scribner 1971. This is the first edition per Currey1.
  • Gollancz 1972. A 2001 Gollancz edition is in the ISFDB.
  • Avon 1973. Later printings of this edition are in the ISDFB.

The Left Hand of Darkness

title link

The twelfth Ace printing lists the dates of the first twelve printings:

  1. March 69
  2. November 72
  3. April 73
  4. June 73
  5. September 73
  6. May 74
  7. November 74
  8. January 75
  9. May 75
  10. November 75
  11. February 76
  12. July 76

which should be useful for adding dates to specific printings. The March 69 date for the first edition is more specific than the book itself gives; I have updated it and added a note on the source.

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1969 Walker. This is the first hardback edition per Currey1. A 1994 Walker edition is in the ISFDB.
  • 1969 McDonald.
  • 1973 Panther. 6th printing is in ISFDB.

Le Livre d'Or de la Science Fiction: Ursula Le Guin

Levin lists this as published in 1978 by Presses Pocket in France; it is a short story collection. It's not in the ISFDB.

Orsinian Tales

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1976 Harper & Row. This is the first edition per Currey1. ISFDB lists it but with incomplete data.
  • 1977 Gollancz

Planet of Exile

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1975 Garland
  • 1978 Harper & Row (there's a 1978 HarperCollins entry which is probably a later reprint of this edition)
  • 1978 Universal/Tandem

Rocannon's World

title link

The Gollancz 1979 edition says "Originally published by Charter Communications, Inc. Copyright 1966 by Ace Books, Inc." on the copyright page. It would be interesting to know what "Charter Communications, Inc" is.

Wasn't "Charter Communications, Inc." the official owner of Ace Books in the 1960s and early 1970s? Ahasuerus 23:18, 21 Dec 2006 (CST)
Yes; hadn't realized. It was part of Grosset and Dunlap. So the statement is a bit misleading, since Ace wasn't acquired by G&D till 1972. Mike Christie (talk) 08:09, 22 Dec 2006 (CST)

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1972 Tandem
  • 1975 Garland

Solomon Leviathan's Nine Hundred and Thirty-First Trip Around the World

title link

The copyright notice on the 1988 edition gives 1988 as the copyright for Alicia Austin's artwork, but 1983 as the copyright for Le Guin. Searching for the title on addall.com finds a 1984 copy with this note from the bookseller: "New Castle: Cheap Street, [1984] First edition. Limited to 277 copies." Presumably that version was copyrighted by Austin too; it would be interesting to know if the artwork changed substantially between the two editions.

Austin's illustrations are probably new to the Putnam edition. The Locus index has "Reprint (Cheap Street 1983) children’s fantasy story with new full-color illustrations by Alicia Austin." [1] Jefe 15:33, 4 Jan 2007 (CST)

Tehanu:The Last Book of Earthsea

Title link.

This edition appears to have been entered from Amazon; it's not clear it's the same as this one, despite the ISBN matching. The latter is entered from Locus1. The copyright page for the former version (visible on Amazon) shows a number line indicating that's a third printing; it might be a third printing of the Locus1 version. The date on the Amazon one was 2001; I'm changing it to 0000-00-00 since it's an undated third printing.

The Tombs of Atuan

title link

Beside what is reported below, there is evidence that our first published version The Tombs of Atuan (Complete Novel), a 1-part Dec 1970 serialization, differs from the novel published as a book, June 1971 --and perhaps thereafter without change?.
Some difference is suggested by Le Guin's "1970, 1971" copyright, reported from the 1975 Bantam Spectra ed. in its 34th printing, P191725. --Pwendt|talk 14:14, 4 November 2017 (EDT)

The Bantam editions have the following information about Atheneum and Bantam printings:

Atheneum:

  1. September 1971
  2. February 1972
  3. March 1973
  4. March 1974

Bantam:

The third printing of the Penguin 1974 edition says:

First published by Victor Gollancz 1972. Published in Puffin Books 1974. Reprinted 1974, 1975.

Note that the interior maps in the Penguin edition are clearly different from those in the Bantam edition. The map of "The Place of the Tombs of Atuan" is clearly the same map, drawn by two different artists. The map of the labyrinth is quite different, however; the key features are in the same place, but parts of the labyrinth are drawn very differently in the two illustrations.

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1971 Atheneum. This is the first edition per Currey1. There is a later printing listed in the ISFDB.
  • 1972 Gollancz. A later printing is in the ISFDB.
  • 1974 Puffin. The third printing is in the ISFDB.
  • 1974 Heinemann
  • 1975 Bantam. Later printings are in the ISFDB.

This edition appears to have been entered from Amazon; it's not clear it's the same as this one, despite the ISBN matching. The latter is entered from Locus1. The copyright page for the former version (visible on Amazon) shows a number line indicating that's a seventh printing; it might be a seventh printing of the Locus1 version. The date on the Amazon one was 2001; I'm changing it to 0000-00-00 since it's an undated seventh printing.

Very Far Away from Anywhere Else

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1976 Atheneum. This is the first edition per Currey1.
  • 1976 Gollancz.
  • 1978 Bantam. There is an undated printing in the ISFDB that might be the first.

The Wind's Twelve Quarters

title link

This Harper & Row edition says "FIRST EDITION", which Currey says is the indicator for a first, but has a printing line that says "78 79 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2" so it may be a 1978 second printing, despite Currey. It has been entered as 1978 since that seems the most likely.

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1975 Harper & Row (see note above)
  • 1976 Gollancz
  • 1976 Bantam. An undated second printing is in the ISFDB.
  • 1978 Panther; published in two volumes.

A Wizard of Earthsea

title link The 6th printing of the Puffin edition says:

First published in the U.S.A. by Parnassus Press 1968 Published in Puffin Books 1971 Reprinted 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 (twice)

The 11th Bantam printing gives the following information about Parnassus and Bantam printings:

Parnassus:

  1. Nov 1968
  2. Dec 1969

Bantam:

  1. Aug 75
  2. Nov 75
  3. Jan 76
  4. Jun 76
  5. Jul 76
  6. Dec 76
  7. Jun 77
  8. Nov 77

9th-11th printings are not assigned dates.

The 16th Bantam printing has a table that matches the dates listed above for #1 to #8 and also includes the dates for the 9th through 14th printing. Rather than listing more bullets here's a table showing the cover price and ISBNs that are known for each printing.

Printing Date Price ISBN
1st August 1975 $1.50 0-553-02168 (SBN)
2nd November 1975
3rd January 1976
4th June 1976
5th July 1976
6th December 1976 $1.75 0-553-10135-8
7th June 1977 $1.95 0-553-10135-8
8th November 1977
9th January 1978
10th July 1978 $1.95 0-553-11609-6
11th January 1979 $1.95 0-553-11609-6
12th December 1979 $2.25 0-553-13767-0
13th May 1980
14th December 1980
15th May 1981
16th January 1982 $2.75 0-553-22563-4
17th December 1982
18th August 1983
19th May 1984 $2.95 0-553-23461-7
20th $3.50 0-553-26250-5
27th 1991 $4.95 0-553-26250-5
44th $6.99 0-553-26250-5
49th $6.99 0-553-26250-5
??th 2007 $7.99 0-553-26250-5

Note that the last line in the table at $7.99 is from Amazon as Bantam is continuing to use ISBN 0-553-26250-5 for A Wizard of Earthsea - www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553262505.

The Ace SF Special edition does not have a date on it, but advertises the Wollheim/Carr "World's Best SF: 1970", which appeared in 1970. Hence it can be dated as 1970. It would be best to date it from a list of publication dates for the SF Specials, if one can be found.

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1968 Parnassus. This is in the ISFDB; it's the first per Currey1. Currey gives three states for the binding.
  • 1971 Puffin. A sixth printing is in the ISFDB.
  • 1971 Gollancz. A later printing is in the ISFDB.
  • 1973 Heinemann.
  • 1975 Bantam. A later printing is in the ISFDB.

Earthsea Map

It's not clear who drew the "Earthsea" map that appears in several forms in AWoE. The Ace, Puffin and Bantam editions simply credit Ruth Robbins for "drawings". The Penguin "Earthsea Trilogy" omnibus specifically credits Robbins with the map copyright; that edition does not use her drawings. The credit is: "Map copyright (C) Ruth Robbins, 1968" which appears unambiguous. However, the copyright information in "Dreams Must Explain Themselves" says "Map of Earthsea appeared originally in A Wizard of Earthsea, published by Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1971. Copyright (C) 1971 by Victor Gollancz Ltd. Reprinted by permission of John Bush and Victor Gollancz Ltd." A web search reveals this ezine which mentions a John Bush who is an editor at Gollancz, so most likely Bush is not the artist. The Parnassus edition should be checked to see if it has the map, and what credit is given there.

The 16th printing by Bantam credits "Illustrated by Ruth Robbins" on the title page and also (c) 1968 by Ruth Robbins for drawings. There is a two page map just before page 1 and on the left/right edges of the map are ten block prints. Each of the ten chapters has a block-print (in slightly larger size) that matches one of the ones from the original map. There are also interior illustrations on the title page, page 9 (a map of the northeast section - The Kargad Lands), page 30 (a map of the central area), page 86 (a map of the section just to the west of the central area), and page 154 (a map of the south east section - The East Reach). The first map seems to be a reduced version of what's in the interior of the book other than some sections of open sea were used in the interior maps to place the compass, mileage scale, and the occasional whale.

The preceding paragraph pertains as well to the 4th printing Bantam A Wizard of Earthsea. Among other things the four interior 1-page maps appear to be photo-expanded rectangular selections from the opening 2-page map.
On the other hand, the 4th printing Bantam The Farthest Shore (book 3) opens with a two-page map that is identical in scope, with a scale difference (lacking the ten block prints that border the opening map in book 1). It is not photo-expanded but relettered much less completely and perhaps redrawn.
The 4th printing Bantam The Tombs of Atuan (book 2) opens with two 1-page maps local to Atuan (see #The Tombs of Atuan, unrelated to the maps in books 1 and 3.

The Word for World Is Forest

title link

Levin lists the following editions the first printings of which are not in the ISFDB.

  • 1977 Gollancz.

Miscellaneous

Levin lists a record and cassette record of Gwilan's Harp and Intracom that is not in the ISFDB, published in 1977 by Caedmon Records.

According to Levin, "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" was printed as a separate chapbook by Pendragon Press in 1973; this is not in the ISFDB.

Levin lists a record of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", along with some liner notes and an excerpt from TLHoD, published 1976 by Alternate World Recordings.

According to both Levin and Currey1, "The Water is Wide" was printed as a separate chapbook by Pendragon Press in 1976; this is not in the ISFDB.

Series

Check that the correct series are listed, that everything is in the correct series, and that any sequence information is correct.

Awards

Outstanding tasks are listed. For each one, if a check has been made, make a note below about what you checked and what source you used.

  • Verify each listed award is true -- that is, that the title did win or was nominated for this award
  • Review the awards and verify that each award to Le Guin is in fact listed. List each award checked, along with the years checked, below.

Short Fiction

The task list for short fiction is almost the same as for longer titles:

The following are outstanding tasks.

  • Check the list of titles against bibliographic sources and make sure all are present.
  • Identify any duplicates and merge any as appropriate.
  • Identify all variant titles and ensure all are correctly listed. Verify that the correct title is the parent.
  • Check that each title shows the correct first appearance in a publication; if not, enter it from a bibliographic source if available.
  • For a given title
    • Enter or verify any publications that you have access to; verify as correct any that are entered, and set the "correct" flag.
    • Check any publication records against bibliographies
    • Review other sources of data such as booksellers and enter additional publication data from those; do not set the "correct" flag on these.

Make a subsection below for each title, and a note in that subsection showing what verification you have done, any changes you have made, and any questions that remain for that title.

Pseudonyms

Le Guin wrote as "Ursula Le Guin" and "U.K. Le Guin". For each pseudonym it needs to be verified that the ISFDB correctly lists exactly those appearances under those pseudonyms.

Miscellaneous

This section lists verifications performed prior to the organization of this project page, or any verifications that don't fit into a section above.

Internal consistency pass done. Ahasuerus 16:42, 1 Jun 2006 (CDT)

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