Ursula K. Le Guin

Born and raised in Berkeley, California, Ursula K. Le Guin submitted her first story for publication in the magazine Astounding Science fiction at age 11, encouraged by her parents, an anthropologist and a writer. Le Guin earned her undergraduate degree from Radcliffe College in 1951, then a Masters from Columbia University in 1952, and eventually earned a Fulbright Grant to study in France from 1953 to 1954. In the 1960's Le Guin began to have her science fiction and fantasy published in magazines like Fantastic Stories of Imagination and Amazing Stories.

In 1968, she published "A Wizard of Earthsea," which would become a staple of fantasy writing and the basis for the Earthsea series that would eventually be comprised of six novels. "The Left Hand of Darkness" was published in 1970 and won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novel, a feat she duplicated with her next book, "The Dispossessed." She would be the first writer to win both awards twice for the same novels. The third novel in the Earthsea series "The Farthest Shore," was published in 1973 and won the National Book Award for young people's literature. Le Guin continued to publish prolifically and became an ambassador of science fiction and fantasy, preaching their value alongside traditional fiction and novels. Le Guin died on January 22, 2018 at the age of 88.