The late, legendary science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin is getting a postage stamp of her very own, The Oregonian reports.
The three-ounce U.S. Postal Service stamp will feature a portrait of Le Guin along with an illustration of a scene from her acclaimed 1969 novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, illustrated by artist Donato Giancola.
“We are delighted to announce that the 33rd stamp in the US Postal Service Literary Arts series honors Ursula,” Le Guin’s Twitter account, which is managed by her estate, posted. “Stamp release will be later this year, date TBD. From then on, all our letters will be three ounces! Thank you @USPS for this distinction.”
We are delighted to announce that the 33rd stamp in the US Postal Service Literary Arts series honors Ursula. Stamp release will be later this year, date TBD. From then on, all our letters will be three ounces! Thank you @USPS for this distinction. https://t.co/H0jw1KmhUb pic.twitter.com/NA8Yz7I7fl
— Ursula K. Le Guin (@ursulaleguin) January 15, 2021
Le Guin is widely considered one of the greatest American authors of the 20th century. She made her literary debut in 1962 with a short story in Fantastic magazine, and first rose to national prominence in 1968 with her novel A Wizard of Earthsea; The Left Hand of Darkness, which won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, would follow a year later.
Le Guin died at her Portland, Oregon, home in 2018. She was 88.
Other authors honored by the Postal Service’s Literary Arts series have included John Steinbeck, Walt Whitman, Richard Wright, James Baldwin, and Zora Neale Hurston.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
