The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K Le Guin

When Ursula K Le Guin was writing a new story, she would begin by drawing a map.The Word for World book and exhibition present a selection of these images by the celebrated author and consider how her imaginary worlds enable us to re-envision our own.

The Word for World, a book co-published by Spiral House (a new imprint of Silver Press) and AA Publications, brings Le Guin’s maps together with poems, stories, interviews, recipes and essays by contributors from a variety of perspectives to enquire into the relationship between worlds and how they are represented and imagined.

Join us for an afternoon of conversations and readings from contributors of the new publication, including Federico Campagna, Standard Deviation, Bhanu Kapil, So Mayer, Una McCormack, Nisha Ramayya, Sarah Shin and Marilyn Strathern. The discussions will be followed by The Word for World exhibition opening from 6pm onwards in the AA Gallery and Lecture Hall, where the new book will be for sale.

Please get in touch to let us know of any access requirements that you might have and how we can best accommodate these. If you are unable to attend physically but would like to participate in the event remotely please email

Host or Publisher AA Public Programme