''The Birthday of the World and Other Stories'' is a collection of

short fiction A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

by American writer

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

, first published in March, 2002, by HarperCollins. All of the stories, except " Paradises Lost", were previously published individually elsewhere. The story which lends its name to the title of the collection was the most recent publication, in 2000. Only these two stories are not set on planets of the

Ekumen The ''Hainish Cycle'' consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is set in a future history in which civilizations of human beings on planets orbiting a number of nearby stars, including wikt:Terra, Terra ( ...

. The collection was also published in London by

Gollancz Gollancz may refer to: * Gollancz (surname), a Polish-Jewish surname * Victor Gollancz Ltd, a former British publishing house, now used as an imprint by the Orion Publishing Group See also * Gołańcz Gołańcz (german: Gollantsch) is a town ...

, an imprint of the Orion Group, in 2003. A softcover edition was published by Perennial that year.

Foreword A foreword is a (usually short) piece of writing, sometimes placed at the beginning of a book or other piece of literature. Typically written by someone other than the primary author of the work, it often tells of some interaction between the ...

*" Coming of Age in Karhide" – 1995 in ''New Legends'' ed. G. Bear. Takes place on Gethen the planet of '' The Left Hand of Darkness'' which is part of the

. In the society of Karhide, where people are naturally hermaphroditic and only become male or female during a heat-like period called "kemmer," an adolescent matures and loses their virginity. *"

The Matter of Seggri "The Matter of Seggri" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It was first published in 1994 in the third issue of ''Crank!'', a science fiction – fantasy anthology, and has since been printed in number of other pu ...

" – Spring 1994 in ''Crank!''. Takes place on Seggri of the

. The discovery, exploration, and ultimate alteration of a planet characterised by extreme gender imbalance and segregation. *"Unchosen Love" – Fall 1994 in ''Amazing Stories''. Takes place on O of the

which is the same planet as the title story of '' A Fisherman of the Inland Sea''. Society there is built around the ''sedoretu'' – a marriage involving four people. The story is about a meek man and meek woman, who are in relationships with a strong-willed man and woman respectively. The meek find solace in each other's company, an unexpected relationship catalyzed by mysterious encounters. *"Mountain Ways" – August 1996 in ''

Asimov's ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

Science Fiction''. Also set on O, it deals with two women who are in love, but who cannot find suitable partners to establish a sedoretu, decide to deceive the other parties to a marriage by disguising one of the women as a man. The story is part of her Hainish Cycle books. *"Solitude" – December 1994 in '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. Takes place on Eleven-Soro on the fringes of the Ekumen. Society has fragmented – men and women live apart, and adult women do not even enter each other's houses. The story is told by the daughter of a mobile of the Ekumen who grows up in this society. *"

Old Music and the Slave Women "Old Music and the Slave Women" is a science fiction story by Ursula K. Le Guin. It was first published in the 1999 collection ''Far Horizons'', edited by Robert Silverberg, and anthologized multiple times in collections of Le Guin's works. The ...

" – 1999 in ''Far Horizons'' ed. R. Silverberg. Another story in the same dual-planet system of Werel and Yeowe as '' Four Ways to Forgiveness'' of the Ekumen. Set later in time than the stories in that volume, when the "assets" of Voe Deo on Werel are fighting a war to gain freedom from the "owners". *"The Birthday of the World" – June 2000 in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction''. The story depicts a society where the hereditary rulers are "God", and how the society is disrupted from inside and outside. The situation has parallels to that of Incan civilization and the coming of the Europeans. *" Paradises Lost" – First publication. Not part of the Ekumen series, it is a story of a group of humans undertaking a journey to a distant planet to discover the possibilities of habitability. The journey takes several generations, and is told from the perspective of people that have grown up aboard the ship and its unique society, having known only the ship.

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External links

Ways"
full story at clarkesworld {{DEFAULTSORT:Birthday Of The World, The Short story collections by Ursula K. Le Guin 2002 short story collections Hainish Cycle HarperCollins books

Contents

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