orig. Ursula Kroeber
born Oct. 21, 1929, Berkeley, Calif., U.S.
U.S. writer of science fiction and fantasy.
The daughter of Alfred L. Kroeber and educated at Radcliffe College, she was influenced by the methods of anthropology and often included highly detailed descriptions of alien societies in her works. Among her novels are The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), The Word for World Is Forest (1972), The Dispossessed (1974), and Always Coming Home (1985) and the Earthsea series. She also wrote several volumes of essays on feminist issues, writing, and other topics.