1. What makes a story a fantasy?

2. Is it necessary to set a fantasy in a distant time or place?

3. What is the primary function of a fantasy story, as opposed to a contemporary realistic story?

4. How do you define science fiction and fantasy stories, as opposed to "mainstream" literature?

5. Is it necessary for a story to have a crisis or emergency in order for it to have events and conflict and change?

6. How does a fantasy story teach us to think about our real lives?

7. How has the author incorporated her real-life experiences raising her own children into some of these stories?

8. What are some of the standard mythic story elements which the author has integrated into some of these stories?

9. What ethical and moral issues does Le Guin cover in these stories?

10. How seriously can readers take a story with a fantasy setting...