Synopsis
An envoy from the loose trade federation of 83 planets throughout the galaxy invites two different nations on the frigid planet of "Winter" to join, but his task is complicated by both the internal political rivalries of those nations, as well as the fact that the inhabitants of the planet are not of a fixed sex, but periodically develop into either sex temporarily at random, and are asexual the rest of the time.
External Links
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Ditmar Award / Australian Science Fiction Achievement Award | Best International Long Fiction | Nominee/Finalist |
| 1970 | Hugo Award | Best Novel | Winner |
| 1970 | Nebula Award | Novel | Winner |
| 1975 | Locus Poll Award | All-Time Best Novel | Nominee/Finalist |
| 1987 | Locus Poll Award | All-Time Best SF Novel | Runner-up |
| 1995 | James Tiptree, Jr. Award / Otherwise Award | Retrospective | Winner |
| 1998 | Locus Poll Award | All-Time Best SF Novel before 1990 | Nominee/Finalist |
| 2003 | Gaylactic Spectrum Awards | Hall of Fame | Winner |
| 2012 | Locus Online | 20th Century Science Fiction Novel | Nominee/Finalist |
Publications (67)
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1969 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| September 1969 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Walker & Co. | Novel | 1 |
| October 1969 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Walker & Co. / SFBC | Novel | 1 |
| November 1969 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Macdonald | Novel | |
| November 1972 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 7 |
| 1973 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Panther | Novel | |
| 1973 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Panther | Novel | 9 |
| April 1973 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| June 1973 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 7 |
| September 1973 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | ||
| May 1974 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | ||
| November 1974 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 7 |
| November 1974 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 7 |
| 1975 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Panther | Novel | 9 |
| January 1975 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| May 1975 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| November 1975 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| February 1976 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 7 |
| February 1976 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| July 1976 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 1 |
| December 1976 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| June 1977 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| August 1977 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Panther | Novel | |
| 1978 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Panther / Granada | Novel | |
| June 1978 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| November 1978 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 1 |
| 1979 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Panther | Novel | ||
| April 1979 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| January 1980 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 1 |
| August 1980 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Harper & Row | Novel | |
| September 1980 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| 1981 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Futura | Novel | |
| March 1981 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 1 |
| February 1982 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| August 1982 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| 1983 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Futura | Novel | |
| February 1983 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| May 1983 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| September 1984 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 1 | |
| March 1985 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| November 1985 |
|
Five Complete Novels | Avenel Books | Omnibus | 311 |
| April 1987 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Books on Tape | Novel | |
| December 1987 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | ||
| 1991 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | ||
| 1993 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | The Easton Press | Novel | 1 |
| December 1994 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Walker & Co. | Novel | 7 |
| July 2000 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |1 | |
| July 2000 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | ||
| July 2000 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | ||
| September 2003 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| 2004 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Barnes & Noble Books | Novel | |
| October 2004 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Science Fiction Book Club | Novel | 1 |
| October 2008 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Paw Prints | Novel | ||
| April 2009 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Orbit | Novel | 1 |
| 2011 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | |
| December 2012 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Orbit | Novel | |
| October 2016 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Penguin Books (US) | Novel | 1 |
| December 2016 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Recorded Books | Novel | |
| April 2017 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Gollancz / Orion | Novel | 1 |
| April 2017 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Gateway / Orion | Novel | |
| June 2017 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Recorded Books and Blackstone Publishing | Novel | |
| September 2017 |
|
Hainish Novels & Stories, Volume One | The Library of America | Omnibus | 385 |
| September 2017 |
|
The Hainish Novels & Stories | The Library of America | Omnibus | 385|6 |
| 2018 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | The Folio Society | Novel | |
| 2018 | The Left Hand of Darkness | The Easton Press | Novel | ||
| September 2018 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Gollancz | Novel | 1 |
| 2019 |
|
The Left Hand of Darkness | Ace Books | Novel | 1 |