The Ursula K. Le Guin Prize, established in 2022, is an annual, English-language literary award presented in honor of Ursula K. Le Guin. The $25,000 prize is awarded to an author for a single work of "imaginative fiction". The award is meant to honor authors who "can imagine real grounds for hope and see alternatives to how we live now".
Eligibility Books may be nominated for the prize by anyone and will be judged based on how well the work "reflects the concepts and ideas that were central to Ursula's own work, including but not limited to: hope, equity, and freedom; non-violence and alternatives to conflict; and a holistic view of humanity's place in the natural world".
To be eligible, a book must be a "book-length work of imaginative fiction written by a single author", "[p]ublished in the U.S. in English or in translation to English", and "[p]ublished in the specific window for each year's prize". After a writer wins the award once, they cannot be nominated for the prize again.
Additionally, the award "give[s] weight to writers whose access to resources may be limited due to race, gender, age, class or other factors; who are working outside of institutional frameworks like MFA programs; who live outside of cultural centers such as New York; and who have not yet been widely recognized for their work".
Recipients
+ Year Author Title2022 * How High We Go in the Dark After the Dragons Appleseed Elder Race , trans. by Martin Aitken Summer in the City of Roses2023 * Arboreality Wolfish Spear Ten Planets Brother Alive Meet Us by the Roaring Sea Geometries of Belonging Drinking from Graveyard Wells2024 *It Lasts Forever and Then It's Over Orbital Sift Those Beyond the Wall Some Desperate Glory Mammoths at the Gates2025 * Rakesfall Archangels of Funk Blackheart Man Remember You Will Die North Continent Ribbon2026 Audition William Alexander Sunward Christopher Caldwell Call and Response , trans. by Anton Hur Midnight Timetable Notes from a Regicide Tashan Mehta Mad Sisters of Esi One Message Remains Slow Gods
References
External links Official website