January 24, 2018: Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the world's most influential authors of science fiction and fantasy, died Jan. 22 at the age of 88.

Her best known works include The Dispossessed (which won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards), the Earthsea fantasy series, and The Left Hand of Darkness. She was repeatedly honored for excellence in forms ranging from essays and short fiction to full-length novels, and was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Le Guin coined the term "ansible," which has become widely used for fictional communication devices that operate instantaneously or at least faster than light.

For a more complete biography and bibliography, see her Wikipedia entry.

-- Steve Jackson