A story from Ursula K Le Guin’s world of Earthsea that has never been published in print before is due to be released to mark the 50th anniversary of the publication of her classic fantasy novel, The Wizard of Earthsea.

The Daughter of Odren is a story of betrayal and revenge set in the world of Earthsea, in which Weed, the daughter of Lord Garnet, waits for the day she will have her father back. Published as an ebook two years ago, it has never been released in print before, but will be collected in the first ever compilation volume of all the Earthsea novels and short stories in autumn 2018, illustrated by Charles Vess.



“It took me 32 years to write Earthsea and then 16 more years to get it published as what it is, a single story from beginning to end,” said Le Guin. “Authors and wizards learn to be patient while the magic works. An author knows it’s working when it leads to collaboration with a wizard like Charles Vess.”

To be published by Simon & Schuster imprint Saga Press in the US, with UK rights currently under negotiation, The Books of Earthsea features the novel A Wizard of Earthsea, the start of the saga that follows the young wizard Sparrowhawk, or Ged, first published in 1968. It also includes the novels The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu, Tales from Earthsea, and The Other Wind, along with the stories The Word of Unbinding, The Rule of Names and The Daughter of Odren. Le Guin is writing a new introduction for the omnibus, which will also feature her essay, Earthsea Revisioned.

Saga Press editorial director Joe Monti said that publishing Le Guin, “one of the world’s greatest writers”, was “an unending fount of joy for me”.

Le Guin, who is 86, is the author of 23 novels, 12 story collections, five essay collections, 13 books for children and nine volumes of poetry. She is the winner of awards including the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Newbery prizes as well as the National Book award. When she won the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the National Book Foundation said that “for more than 40 years, Le Guin has defied conventions of narrative, language, character, and genre, as well as transcended the boundaries between fantasy and realism, to forge new paths for literary fiction”, adding that “her influence will be felt for decades to come”.

A collection of her writings about life and books, Words Are My Matter, is out this October. Le Guin also recently published Steering the Craft, a guide to writing, and the poetry collection Late in the Day.

Last year, the author said that she continues to write poems, but “it takes quite a lot of vigour and stamina to write a story, and a huge amount to write a novel. I don’t have those any more, and I miss writing fiction.”