Having grown up as a science fiction fan inSt. Louis, Missouri, Leckie's attempts in her youth to get her science fiction works published were unsuccessful. One of her few publications from that time was an unattributedbodice-ripper inTrue Confessions.[3]
After giving birth to her children in 1996 and 2000, boredom as astay-at-home mother motivated her to sketch a first draft of what would becomeAncillary Justice forNational Novel Writing Month 2002. In 2005, Leckie attended theClarion West Writers Workshop, where she studied underOctavia Butler. After that, she wroteAncillary Justice over a period of six years; it was picked up by the publisherOrbit in 2012 and published the following year.[3][9]
Leckie has published numerous short stories, in outlets includingSubterranean Magazine,Strange Horizons, andRealms of Fantasy. Her short stories have been selected for inclusion in year's best collections, such asThe Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, edited by Rich Horton.[10]
The sequel,Ancillary Sword, was published in October 2014, and the conclusion,Ancillary Mercy, was published in October 2015. "Night's Slow Poison"[14] (2014) and "She Commands Me and I Obey"[15] (2014) are short stories set in the same universe.
In 2015, Orbit Books purchased two additional novels from Leckie. The first,Provenance (published on 3 October 2017), is set in theImperial Radch universe.[16] The second was to have been an unrelated science fiction novel.[17] In April 2018, Orbit announced that Leckie's first fantasy novel,The Raven Tower, would be published in early 2019.[18] Another standalone novel set in theImperial Radch universe entitledTranslation State was published on June 6, 2023.
"Hesperia and Glory". (2006).Subterranean Magazine 4.[20] (Reprinted inScience Fiction: The Best of the Year 2007 Edition, edited by Rich Horton)
"Footprints". (2007).Postcards from Hell: The First Thirteen.
"The Snake's Wife". (2007).Helix #6. (Reprinted onTranscriptase[21])
"Needle and Thread" - co-authored by Rachel Swirsky. (2008).Lone Star Stories #29.[22]
"The Nalendar". (2008).Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Issue #36. (Reprinted inUncanny Magazine #2, January 2015[23] and as audio on PodCastle #52, May 2009[24])
"Clickweed". (July 2008).A Field Guide to Surreal Botany.
"Marsh Gods". (7 July 2008).Strange Horizons.
"The God of Au".Helix #8. (Reprinted inThe Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009, edited by Rich Horton)
"The Endangered Camp". (2009).Clockwork Phoenix 2. (Reprinted inThe Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010, edited by Rich Horton)
"The Sad History of the Tearless Onion" (12 June 2009).PodCastle Miniature #33.[25]
"The Unknown God". (February 2010).Realms of Fantasy.
"Beloved of the Sun". (21 October 2010).Beneath Ceaseless Skies.
"Maiden, Mother, Crone". (December 2010).Realms of Fantasy. (Reprinted inLightspeed, January 2015 and as audio on PodCastle #500, 11 December 2017[26])
"The Endangered Camp".[27] (12 March 2012).Clockwork Phoenix 2. (Reprinted inThe Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010 andForever Magazine, March 2015)
"Saving Bacon". (30 July 2014).PodCastle #322.[28]
"The Creation and Destruction of the World" (25 February 2015).PodCastle #352[29]
"Another Word for World". (2015).Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft.
^abLeckie, Ann (2019).The Raven Tower.Orbit Books. Front matter.ISBN9780316388696.LCCN2018040311.Simultaneously published in Great Britain and in the U.S. by Orbit in 2019¶ First Edition: February 2019
