Le Guin chronological bibliography

Ursula K. Le Guin’s website includes a list of her “major titles,” in several categories. Chaos Golubitsky created a chronological reordering of the novels, story collections, and nonfiction books from that list, and has given me permission to post it here.

One complication for anyone looking for a complete-Le Guin-chronology list: this list doesn’t include the poetry, translations, or kids’ books (except for Fish Soup) from the major-titles list.

Another complication: this ordering lists the short-story collections at their publication date as collections, which means the stories themselves are out of chronological order, which may give some inaccurate impressions about Le Guin’s development as a writer. For example, she had eight short stories out (including “Semley’s Necklace”) before Rocannon’s World, so starting the chronological sequence with the novel misses some of her earlier development. Similarly, she had at least two Earthsea stories published before A Wizard of Earthsea.

For a much more thorough bibliography, see Le Guin’s ISFDB entry, though that too is categorized rather than only chronological.

Okay, enough disclaimers. Here’s Chaos’s list, with a few minor adjustments by me:

  1. Rocannon's World (1966, novel, Hainish Cycle)
  2. Planet of Exile (1966, novel, Hainish Cycle)
  3. City of Illusion (1967, novel, Hainish Cycle)
  4. A Wizard of Earthsea (1968, novel, Earthsea)
  5. The Left Hand of Darkness (1969, novel, Hainish Cycle)
  6. The Tombs of Atuan (1970, novel, Earthsea)
  7. The Lathe of Heaven (1971, novel)
  8. The Farthest Shore (1972, novel, Earthsea)
  9. The Word for World Is Forest (1972, novella, Hainish Cycle)
  10. The Dispossessed (1974, novel, Hainish Cycle)
  11. The Wind's Twelve Quarters (1975, story collection)
  12. Very Far Away from Anywhere Else (1976, short YA novel)
  13. Orsinian Tales (1976, story collection, Orsinia)
  14. Malafrena (1979, novel, Orsinia)
  15. The Language of the Night (1979, essay collection)
  16. The Beginning Place (1980, novel)
  17. The Compass Rose (1982, story collection)
  18. The Eye of the Heron (1983 (first standalone US edition), novel)
  19. Always Coming Home (1985, sorta kinda novel)
  20. Buffalo Gals (1987, story collection)
  21. Dancing at the Edge of the World (1989, essay collection)
  22. Tehanu (1990, novel, Earthsea)
  23. Searoad (1991, story collection)
  24. Fish Soup (1992, children's(?) book)
  25. A Fisherman of the Inland Sea (1994, story collection)
  26. Four Ways to Forgiveness (1995, story collection, Hainish Cycle) (…Later version is Five Ways to Forgiveness)
  27. Unlocking the Air (1996, literary-fiction story collection)
  28. Steering the Craft (1998, writing-advice book)
  29. The Telling (2000, novel, Hainish Cycle)
  30. Tales from Earthsea (2001, story collection, Earthsea)
  31. The Birthday of the World (2002, story collection)
  32. The Other Wind (2003, novel, Earthsea)
  33. Changing Planes (2003, story collection)
  34. Gifts (2004, YA novel, Annals of the Western Shore)
  35. The Wave in the Mind (2004, essay collection)
  36. Voices (2006, YA novel, Annals of the Western Shore)
  37. Powers (2007, YA novel, Annals of the Western Shore)
  38. Lavinia (2008, novel)
  39. Cheek By Jowl (2009, essay collection)
  40. The Wild Girls (2011, story/poem/essay/interview collection)
  41. Words Are My Matter (2016, essay collection)
  42. No Time To Spare (2017, essay collection)

One Response to “Le Guin chronological bibliography”

  1. Le Guin chronological bibliography, revisited – Lorem Ipsum

    […] while back, I posted a chronological list of Le Guin’s major books, mostly put together by my friend […]

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