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/https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mukftwejdk2yNicola Griffith (@nicolaz.bsky.social) reads "Beige" for this week's episode of In Your Spare Time. "Beige is the only color I can think of that is used as a fashion sneer," begins Ursula's April 2011 post about the color, about fashion, about definitions, and about making statements. https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/nicola-griffith-reads-beige02 Sep 2026 16:59 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mukftwejdk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mufrz2gics2sHiron Ennes (@hironennes.bsky.social) reads from their second novel, The Works of Vermin, which is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. youtu.be/zUu572SLO24 https://youtu.be/zUu572SLO2431 Aug 2026 20:53 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mufrz2gics2shttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mufip7mubk2dCongratulations to Fred Fordham for receiving the 2026 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic! Available in English from Clarion Books and Walker UK, and available or forthcoming in Catalan, French, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.31 Aug 2026 18:06 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mufip7mubk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mu3fdiuiks2n🌟Shortlisted for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction🌟 Through the perspective of Maw, who was once human but is now something else, Claire North wrestles with capitalism, collective choice, fascism, gender, freedom, art, and the question of how we decide what—and who—matters.27 Aug 2026 17:39 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu3fdiuiks2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mtywxvol3c2pUrsula's 2011 commentary on the Google Book Settlement continues with this week's episode of In Your Spare Time. Kim Stanley Robinson returns to read and reflect on "Unfacts Concerning the Google (Un)Settlement, Part 2." https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/kim-stanley-robinson-reads-unfacts-concerning-the-google-unsettlement-part-226 Aug 2026 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtywxvol3c2phttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mttqvejkes22More about this year's shortlist: www.ursulakleguin.com/prize26 https://www.ursulakleguin.com/prize2624 Aug 2026 16:45 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttqvejkes22https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mttqu34kxk22Midnight Timetable is published by @algonquinbooks.bsky.social: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/bora-chung/midnight-timetable/9781643756660/24 Aug 2026 16:44 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttqu34kxk22https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mttqs6bn7c22Bora Chung's novel-in-stories Midnight Timetable, translated by @antonhur.com, is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. Very few characters in this book are named, and here, Bora speaks about those names and what they mean. https://youtu.be/HE1YM5jBm0U?si=b-SaZV7FrVHAFZ6924 Aug 2026 16:43 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mttqs6bn7c22https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mtjsrmjwak27🌟Shortlisted for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction: Mad Sisters of Esi🌟 Using myth, fictional scholarship, alchemy, folktales, & animism, @tashanmehta.bsky.social creates a quantum form of storytelling that follows the relationship between two sets of sisters, generations & worlds apart.20 Aug 2026 17:52 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjsrmjwak27https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mthdzfz67c2xIf you've been reading this year's Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction shortlist, mark your calendars for October 5th, when A Meal of Thorns discusses the shortlisted books! [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Aug 2026 18:23 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mthdzfz67c2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mth55b5sks2jIn 2011, Ursula wrote two blog posts about the 2005 lawsuit brought against Google, which had scanned millions of books without permission. On this week's episode of In Your Spare Time, Kim Stanley Robinson reads the first of these posts, "Unfacts Concerning the Google (Un)Settlement." https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/kim-stanley-robinson-reads-unfacts-concerning-the-google-unsettlement19 Aug 2026 16:20 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mth55b5sks2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mtem2vb4k22mThe Wave in the Mind has a new look! This edition is now available from Shambhala https://www.shambhala.com/the-wave-in-the-mind.html18 Aug 2026 16:09 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtem2vb4k22mhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mtcbtjmpkc22Sunward, by @willalex.bsky.social, is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. In this video, Will gives a little bit of context for robot children in science fiction, and how they have long reflected humanity's fears—but in his novel, their differences are celebrated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTUjEry6_As17 Aug 2026 18:00 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtcbtjmpkc22https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3msyen5l5hk2v🌟Shortlisted for the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction🌟 In One Message Remains, @premeemohamed.com explores the way people—soldiers, civilians, bureaucrats. gallows-builders—live during wartime, occupation, & colonization. The cumulative effect is complexly anti-war & realistically hopeful.13 Aug 2026 19:24 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3msyen5l5hk2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3msvskrdqik25In March of 2011, in the wake of the Tōhoku earthquake, Ursula's translator-friend Akemi Tanigaki asked Ursula if she would post a brief note for her readers in Japan. On this week's episode of In Your Spare Time, Akemi reads the resulting blog post. https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/akemi-tanigaki-reads-to-my-readers-in-japan12 Aug 2026 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3msvskrdqik25https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mssygonepk2qPip Adam's novel Audition is shortlisted for the 2026 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction. Here, Pip (@pipadam.bsky.social) introduces the book, then reads from the novel's opening pages. More about this year's shortlist: www.ursulakleguin.com/prize26 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znZfdCQU1M11 Aug 2026 16:02 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mssygonepk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mslwnjgqus2xHappy international cat day from the Toms of Atuan! (Ursula drew this on a postcard; you can also find the drawing in the Book of Cats).08 Aug 2026 20:41 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mslwnjgqus2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3msdxsogh6s2eIn March of 2011, Ursula wrote a colorfully titled blog post about colorful language: "I remember when swearing, though tame by modern standards, was quite varied and often highly characteristic." On this week's episode of In Your Spare Time, author @vajra.me reads "Would You Please Fucking Stop?" https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/vajra-chandrasekera-reads-would-you-please-fing-stop05 Aug 2026 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3msdxsogh6s2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mrxo23iax224Coming September 1st: A new edition of Changing Planes! This is part of Harper Perennial's limited Olive Editions line (which included The Wind's Twelve Quarters in 2022). This year's Olive selections are all science fiction and fantasy, and are illustrated by Ibrahim Rayintakath.31 Jul 2026 19:14 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrxo23iax224https://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mrsya32apk2sHere's author @michelleruizkeil.bsky.social to introduce this week's episode of In Your Spare Time—which you can listen to here (or wherever you get your podcasts!): https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/michelle-ruiz-keil-reads-uniforms29 Jul 2026 22:33 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrsya32apk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mrnfqgbpac2rThe Le Guin house in northwest Portland has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. https://www.pdxmonthly.com/arts-and-culture/2026/07/ursula-k-le-guin-house-national-register27 Jul 2026 17:19 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrnfqgbpac2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mrget2emys2iThis extremely early work of Ursula’s appeared in the anthology First Words: Earliest Writing from Contemporary Favorite Writers, edited by Paul Mandelbaum and published by Algonquin in 1993. (“Krakie” was a nickname for Ursula’s mother.)24 Jul 2026 22:14 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrget2emys2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mrau66fdb22dThis week on In Your Spare Time, artist and professor Morehshin Allahyari reads posts 14 and 15, "Egypt" and "Footnote to My Egypt Blog Post," in which Ursula addresses and then reconsiders her frustration with then-President Obama's choices regarding Egypt. https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/morehshin-allahyari-reads-egypt-and-footnote-to-my-egypt-blog-post22 Jul 2026 17:33 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrau66fdb22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mquheald222wComing in November from Tor Essentials: a new edition of The Word for World is Forest, with an introduction from @stephengrahamjones.com! On shelves November 17th. Cover design by Shreya Gupta.17 Jul 2026 19:11 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mquheald222whttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mqpjrvkvtk2zIn 2022-2023, Theo Downes-Le Guin conducted several interviews with Martha Ullman West. She was nationally respected dance critic and author, and a friend of Ursula's for half a century, who died on July 5. This week, in honor of Martha, In Your Spare Time presents some of those conversations. https://inyoursparetime.libsyn.com/special-episode-martha-ullman-west15 Jul 2026 20:12 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqpjrvkvtk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/ursulakleguin.com/post/3mqkets2p4c2fIf you're in Seattle, don't miss this event at Elliott Bay Book Company on Thursday (7/16): Theo Downes-Le Guin will be in conversation with author and editor Nisi Shawl about The Curve of the World, Vonda N. McIntyre's final novel, which was recently published by Aqueduct Press.13 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:dbe74ifb7usz7x73ee7lapia/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqkets2p4c2f