Ursula K. Le Guin (U.S. 2021)

Posted on by

Announced on January 15th:

The 33rd stamp in the Literary Arts series honors Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018), who expanded the scope of literature through novels and short stories that increased critical and popular appreciation of science fiction and fantasy. The stamp features a portrait of Le Guin based on a 2006 photograph. The background shows a scene from her landmark 1969 novel “The Left Hand of Darkness,” in which an envoy from Earth named Genly Ai escapes from a prison camp across the wintry planet of Gethen with Estraven, a disgraced Gethenian politician. The artist for this stamp was Donato Giancola. The art director was Antonio Alcalá. The words “three ounce” on this stamp indicate its usage value. Like a Forever stamp, this stamp will always be valid for the value printed on it.

This stamp will be issued July 27th with a ceremony in Portland, Oregon. The Scott catalogue number is 5619.

Additional information will appear below the line, with the latest at the top

Updated June 28th: Ceremony Details
[press release]
New Stamp Highlights Acclaimed Author Ursula K. Le Guin
U.S. Postal Service’s Literary Arts Series Celebrates Author for Writings ‘Ahead of Their Time’

WHAT: The U.S. Postal Service honors the cross-genre writings of Ursula K. Le Guin, the acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author, with the 33rd stamp in its literary series.

News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #UrsulaKLeGuinstamp.

WHO: Joseph Corbett, chief financial officer and executive vice president, U.S. Postal Service

India Downes-Le Guin, granddaughter of Ursula K. Le Guin

WHEN: Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at 11 a.m. PT

WHERE:
Evan H. Roberts Sculpture Mall
Portland Art Museum
1119 SW Park Avenue
Portland, OR 97205

[Interestingly, no mention of the first day ceremony is on the Museum’s website yet. —VSC]

RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/ursulakleguinstamp

BACKGROUND: Born on Oct. 21, 1929, in Berkeley, CA, Ursula Kroeber Le Guin began exploring the potential of science fiction and fantasy through writing in the early 1960s. In 1966, she published her first novel, “Rocannon’s World,” which intertwined elements of fantasy and science fiction. It inspired two sequels that established a setting for many later novels and stories.

Educated at Radcliffe College, and after receiving a master’s degree from Columbia University, Le Guin also explored gender identity through “The Left Hand of Darkness.” This ground-breaking novel follows a human ambassador to an icebound planet — where the inhabitants had no fixed gender. The book, which won the Hugo and Nebula awards in science fiction and fantasy, is often praised as the novel that permanently raised the literary expectations for science fiction.

Updated June 17th from the Postal Bulletin:
Here are the postmarks for this issue:The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.54″ x 1.45″The “special” postmark for other post offices to use after the first-day measures 2.74″ x 1.15″

Updated June 17th from the Postal Bulletin:
On July 27, 2021, in Portland, OR, the United States Postal Service® will issue the Ursula K. Le Guin stamp (Non-denominated priced at the 3-ounce rate) in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 121400). This stamp will go on sale nationwide July 27, 2021, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue.

The 33rd stamp in the Literary Arts series honors Ursula K. Le Guin (1929–2018), who expanded the scope of literature through novels and short stories that increased critical and popular appreciation of science fiction and fantasy. The stamp features a portrait of Le Guin based on a 2006 photograph. The background shows a scene from her landmark 1969 novel The Left Hand of Darkness, in which an envoy from Earth named Genly Ai escapes from a prison camp across the wintry planet of Gethen with Estraven, a disgraced Gethenian politician. The artist for this stamp was Donato Giancola. The art director was Antonio Alcalá. The words “THREE OUNCE” on this stamp indicate its usage value. Like a Forever® stamp, this stamp will always be valid for the rate printed on it.

No automatic distribution.

Special postmark

How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office™ or at The Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:

FDOI – Ursula K. Le Guin Stamp
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900

After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by November 27, 2021.

Technical Specifications:

Issue: Ursula K. Le Guin Stamp
Item Number: 121400
Denomination & Type of Issue: 3-ounce rate, Non-denominated, Mail use
Format: Pane of 20 (1 design)
Series: Literary Arts (33rd in a series)
Issue Date & City: July 27, 2021, Portland, OR 97208
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Artist: Donato Giancola, Brooklyn, NY
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset, Microprint “USPS”
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 20
Print Quantity: 10,000,000 stamps
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Colors: Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42 x 0.84 in. / 36.068 x 21.336 mm
Overall Size (w x h): 1.56 x 0.98 in. / 39.624 x 24.892 mm
Full Pane Size (w x h): 7.24 x 5.92 in. / 183.896 x 150.368 mm
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by four (4) single digits in two corners
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: Literary Arts – 33rd in a series • Plate number in bottom two corners
Back: ©2021 USPS • USPS logo • 2 barcodes (121400) • Plate position diagram (6) • Promotional text

Updated January 17th:
The official Ursula K. Le Guin Twitter account announced the stamp, garnering much reaction from her fans. You can follow the discussion here. The message was retweeted by DisCon III, the 79th World Science Fiction convention, which will be held in Washington, DC, August 25-29.

18 thoughts on “Ursula K. Le Guin (U.S. 2021)”

  1. Le Guin died just two years ago. Why is she being honored so soon? Ray Bradbury has been dead for 8 years and 2020 was his 100th Birthday. Yet, the Postal Service failed to honor him.

    This is becoming ridiculous.

    • She died in 2018. By the time the stamp is issued here in 2021, it may be three years … or close enough. After all, the USPS has been having trouble with timely delivery….

      • Something tells me that USPS need to review their policies. Just because a person died 3 years ago doesn’t make it right to issue a stamp in his/her honor. Keep in mind, it’s called “commemorative” for a reason. From as far as I know, a commemorative stamp, is a stamp which is issued to commemorate birth anniversary of a person or an event. Correct me if I am wrong, VSC.

        • I’m not sure what your point is, nor do I speak for the USPS. There is no obligation to honor someone after three years, just a restriction currently not to do so within three years after his or her death. There is no requirement that the issuance of a commemorative be tied to a date or anniversary, although it usually is. In this case, the Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee decided the author on its new 3-ounce rate Literary Arts stamp would be Le Guin. I don’t think many of the others in this series were tied to birth anniversaries.

          • Did I implied that you were? If so, please forgive me. I was talking to you like a fellow collector to a fellow collector. My point is that many stamps that are coming out in the United States are not tied to anniversaries, although as you said “it usually is”, and therefore should. I have several issues that are tied to an anniversary of bicentennial. Those will include John F. Kennedy in 2017 (close enough), Walt Whitman in 2019, and Henry David Thoreau from 2017. The rest, mostly were issued just to feel the void…

          • The Citizen’s Stamp Advisory Committee is a great addition to the USPS, thanks to which we as collectors have more stamps to choose from. On the other hand, the same committee only release stamps for the fan sake, which I, as collector, view as immoral. I collected stamps since 1997 and worldwide. My main aim is to collect stamps from countries where I been. That is: Russia (from which I came), Germany (the birthplace of my hobby), and USA (where I reside since 2000, and proudly collect this country’s stamps, despite numerous inaccuracies, and mundane releases). And throughout my life as a stamp collector I seen every country in the world issue stamps to celebrate specific anniversary. The US stamps though, I appalled, are no closer to it. They are closer to African stamp releases, because some of them have nothing historic to them. On the other hand, I understand that because America is a fairly young country, that’s why we can’t release anything past Columbus, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and the boring Civil Rights Movement (which is covered by every stamp in Black Heritage series). But come on! We have never issued stamps to celebrate anniversary of our institutions! MIT, Yale, and many others. Why those historical buildings should be left out?!

    • Agree totally. If they wanted a science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury was a giant.
      USPS has been sideways for a while now.

    • And 2020 was Isaac Asimov’s 100th Bday…
      And the 3oz is a FOREVER, did they sell all of the Walt Whitman stamps?
      With no announcement for a new 2oz Forever, I guess they have lots of Wedding Corsage stamps left.

    • I have to agree slightly. Asimov, Bradbury are more logical. Especially since there is a website dedicated to putting Dr. Asimov’s picture on a postage stamp.

      • Mike, what’s the address for the Asimov stamp site?

        I have to think there’s a rights issue here, for one or several of the Grand Masters.

        • And there was no rights issues with LeGuin? The author was dead for only three years and her works aren’t in public domain, unlike others’.

          • I would assume the Le Guin estate granted the USPS the rights to use her name and likeness. The USPS isn’t using her works (as far as I know), so whether or not her writing is public domain wouldn’t be an issue.

          • Ursula LeGuin’s Grand-Daughter will be at the FDoI Ceremony. I think that says enough about ‘Granting Rights’ to USPS…

        • In reality, the background is a depiction of one of her works. So, just because the estate gave a green light to USPS, doesn’t mean they should release it right away. Or does the right have an “expiration date”?

    • I have sent inquiry to the Greater Portland Postal Customer’s Council for more details on a When/Where for a First-Day ceremony. They have acknowledged my inquiry and said they would get back to me. It’s only a 6-hour train trip, so …
      USPS.COM already has pre-order for the FDoI cancels…

      • Maps to the FDoI ceremony over on my facebook page. 1 – 4 blocks away from both Tri-Met and Portland Streetcar stops. Near exits of Interstate 405 and I-5.
        Take the Green Tri-Met line from Portland Union Station ( AMTRAK)
        Take the Red Tri-Met line from Portland International Airport ( PDX ) and change to the Green Tri-Met line or the Green Portland Streetcar line. ( PDX served by Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Air National Guard, FEDEX, and UPS )
        Private Pilots can fly to Hillsboro International Airport ( HIO ), and taxi/Uber to the Blue Tri-Met station in Hillsboro. ( Same streets for Red and Blue Tri-Met in downtown Portland )
        https://www.facebook.com/lefty.dundee.3/

Comments are closed.