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# Library of America is publishing Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea novels
- URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/ursula-k-le-guin-wizard-of-earthsea-library-of-america-fantasy-book/
- Published: 2026-02-28T00:19:41.000Z
- Updated: 2026-02-28T00:19:41.000Z
- Description: Coming September 2026
- Author: Andrew Liptak
- Tags: Fantasy, News, Books

Library of America, a nonprofit publisher dedicated to celebrating America's great literature and writing [is publishing](https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/forthcoming-fall-2026/?ref=andrewliptak.com) one of the best works of fantasy literature: Ursula K. Le Guin's *Earthsea* series.

The six-book cycle will be broken into two volumes, which will be released on September 8th. [Volume One](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538502?ref=andrewliptak.com) will contain *A Wizard of Earthsea*, *The Tombs of Atuan*, and *The Farthest Shore*, as well as two shorter stories, while [the second](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538519?ref=andrewliptak.com) will include *Tehanu*, *Tales from Earthsea*, *The Other Wind*, and the rest of the short stories set in the world. The books will also include Le Guin's essays about the series and her previously-unseen, hand-drawn maps. The books will be available individually and as a [boxed set](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538526?ref=andrewliptak.com).

Le Guin published *A Wizard of Earthsea* after Parnassus Press publisher Herbert Schein entreated her to write a book for younger readers in 1967\. It prompted her to begin thinking about wizards and where they learned about magic, and she quickly came up with a coming-of-age story about a promising young wizard named Ged. After saving his village, he goes off to attend a magical academy in an archipelago and accidentally unleashes a shadow, prompting him to try and escape. It's a phenomenal read, and having picked it up a recently, it holds up wonderfully. 

While LoA usually decks their books out in a standardized black cover, they've brought in artist and printmaker [Olivia Lomenech Gill](https://www.oliviagill.com/?ref=andrewliptak.com) to produce the cover art and boxed set for this edition. 

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Le Guin is a familiar name for Library of America: the publisher has been steadily working its way through her books, including [*Ursula K. Le Guin: Five Novels*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598537734?ref=andrewliptak.com) (*The Lathe of Heaven,* *The Eye of the Heron,* *The Beginning Place*, *Searoad: Chronicles of Klatsand*, *Lavinia*), [Ursula K. Le Guin: Collected Poems](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598537369?ref=andrewliptak.com), [*Ursula K. Le Guin: Annals of the Western Shore*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598536683?ref=andrewliptak.com) (*Gifts,* *Voices,* *Powers*), [*Ursula K. Le Guin: Always Coming Home*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598536034?ref=andrewliptak.com) (Author’s Expanded Edition), [*Ursula K. Le Guin: Hainish Novels & Stories, Volume One*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598535389?ref=andrewliptak.com) (*Rocannon’s World,* *Planet of Exile,* *City of Illusions,* *The Left Hand of Darkness* , *The Dispossessed*), [*Ursula K. Le Guin: Hainish Novels & Stories, Volume Two* ](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598535396?ref=andrewliptak.com)(*The Word for World Is Forest,* *Five Ways to Forgiveness,* *The Telling*), [*Ursula K. Le Guin: The Complete Orsinia*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598534948?ref=andrewliptak.com) (*Malafrena*, *Orsinian Tales*), [*Ursula K. Le Guin’s Book of Cats*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538298?ref=andrewliptak.com), and [*Ursula K. Le Guin: Searoad: Chronicles of Klatsand*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538311?ref=andrewliptak.com)*.*

Le Guin's works have been reprinted a *lot* in recent years. The Folio Society has produced some [great editions](https://www.foliosociety.com/usa/authors/ursula-k-le-guin?ref=andrewliptak.com) of her books, Tor recently released [*Worlds of Exile and Illusion*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781250781260?ref=andrewliptak.com) (which includes *Rocannon's World,* *Planet of Exile,* and *City of Illusions*), Saga Press released [*The Unreal and the Real: The Selected Short Stories of Ursula K. Le Guin*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781481475976?ref=andrewliptak.com)*,* [*The Found and the Lost: The Collected Novellas of Ursula K. Le Guin*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781668243213?ref=andrewliptak.com)*,* and [*The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition*](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Books-of-Earthsea/Ursula-K-Le-Guin/Earthsea-Cycle/9781481465588?ref=andrewliptak.com), while HarperCollins will include [*The Dispossessed*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780063484122?ref=andrewliptak.com)in its [forthcoming](https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/press-releases/harpercollins-to-publish-american-classics-collection-on-may-5-2026?ref=andrewliptak.com) Harper Perennial Modern Classics series. There's also an [excellent graphic novel adaptation](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9780063285767?ref=andrewliptak.com) of *A Wizard of Earthsea* that came out last year and a television adaptation [somewhere in the works](https://www.andrewliptak.com/wizard-of-earthsea-ursula-k-le-guin-fantasy-tv-a24/) in Hollywood. There's certainly no shortage of choices when it comes to finding new editions of her books. 

That said, I really like what Library of America produces: these books are nicely curated with additional essays or commentary, and if you're looking to save some space, they're pretty compact. But more than that, I think of these as carrying a level of prestige with them: they're included in this incredible, curated body of American writing that the publisher has been putting out since the 1970s. 

[Library of America to publish the works of Octavia ButlerNonprofit publisher Library of America is expanding its speculative fiction offerings: it’ll release a volume containing the works of Octavia Butler in 2021, co-edited by Nisi Shawl and Gerry Canavan. Shawl revealed the news on Twitter, noting that they’ll be writing an introduction for the book, which will![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/icon/54948818650_d4d892e6db_w-53.jpg)Transfer OrbitAndrew Liptak![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/2c/d7/2cd7d323-e6ed-4666-8092-07e380dbdf2a/content/images/thumbnail/OctaviaButler-headshot-740x425.jpg)](https://www.andrewliptak.com/octavia-butler-library-of-america-nisi-shawl-gerry-canavan-kindred-fledging/)

LoA has been slowly adding genre novels to its collection, including authors such as [Octavia Butler](https://www.loa.org/writers/756-octavia-e-butler/?ref=andrewliptak.com), [Philip K. Dick](https://www.loa.org/writers/261-philip-k-dick/?ref=andrewliptak.com), [Shirley Jackson](https://www.loa.org/writers/276-shirley-jackson/?ref=andrewliptak.com), [Madeleine L’Engle](https://www.loa.org/writers/694-madeleine-lengle/?ref=andrewliptak.com), [H.P. Lovecraft](https://www.loa.org/writers/118-h-p-lovecraft/?ref=andrewliptak.com), and [Joanna Russ](https://www.loa.org/writers/724-joanna-russ/?ref=andrewliptak.com), as well as anthologies and collections such as [*The Black Fantastic*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538113?ref=andrewliptak.com)*,* [*American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598531572?ref=andrewliptak.com)*,* [*American Science Fiction: Eight Classic Novels of the 1960s*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598536355?ref=andrewliptak.com)*,* [*The Future Is Female: Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598535808?ref=andrewliptak.com)*,* and [*The Future Is Female! More Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598537321?ref=andrewliptak.com). 

Le Guin's *Earthsea* cycle isn't the only genre title coming out from LoA this year: in October, it'll release [*Peter Straub: Three Novels of the 1970s*](https://bookshop.org/a/6134/9781598538540?ref=andrewliptak.com), which includes *Julia*, *If You Could See Me Now*, and *Ghost Story*.