You are a human animal.

You are a very special breed,

or you are the only animal.

Who can think, who can reason, who can read.

Hi, this is Michael Silverblad, and welcome to Bookworm.

Today, my guest, I'm happy to say, is Ursula K. Le Guin, whose book, Searroad, has been

recently published by Harbor Collins. Now, the publisher has made a point of saying that this is your first mainstream book, but

I can't imagine what that means.

Can you tell me?

Well, there is this thing called genre, which, you know, it's so horrible.

We don't even have an English word for it, right?

I have to do unpronounceable French.

And if you write in one of the genres, of course, you get typecast.

And I have managed to typecast myself as a science fiction writer and a fantasy writer and a children's book writer.

Anything else?

I guess that about coverage it.

So it's really hard for people to just introduce me as a writer.

And it seems to worry the publisher more than it does me or the readers.

Uh-huh.

It seemed to me.

Now, the subtitle of this book is Chronicles of Cotsand, which would begin to suggest, as I would like to in the course of this interview, that this book, in its own way, is science fiction.

Yeah, I'll be interested in hearing your theory.

...