Having grown up as a science fiction fan in St. 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 unattributed bodice-ripper in True Confessions.[3]
After giving birth to her children in 1996 and 2000, boredom as a stay-at-home mother motivated her to sketch a first draft of what would become Ancillary Justice for National Novel Writing Month 2002. In 2005, Leckie attended the Clarion West Writers Workshop, where she studied under Octavia Butler. After that, she wrote Ancillary Justice over a period of six years; it was picked up by the publisher Orbit in 2012 and published the following year.[3][9]
Leckie has published numerous short stories, in outlets including Subterranean Magazine, Strange Horizons, and Realms of Fantasy. Her short stories have been selected for inclusion in year's best collections, such as The 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.
Other novels
In 2015, Orbit Books purchased two additional novels from Leckie. The first, Provenance (published on 3 October 2017), is set in the Imperial 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 the Imperial Radch universe entitled Translation State was published on June 6th, 2023.
Lake of Souls. (9 Jul 2024). Orbit. ISBN 9780356523460.
Short fiction
"Hesperia and Glory". (2006). Subterranean Magazine 4.[20] (Reprinted in Science 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 on Transcriptase[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 in Uncanny 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 in The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2009, edited by Rich Horton)
"The Endangered Camp". (2009). Clockwork Phoenix 2. (Reprinted in The 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 in Lightspeed, January 2015 and as audio on PodCastle #500, 11 December 2017[26])
"The Endangered Camp".[27] (12 March 2012). Clockwork Phoenix 2. (Reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2010 and Forever Magazine, March 2015)
"Saving Bacon". (39 July 2014). PodCastle #322.[28]
"Another Word for World". (2015). Future Visions: Original Science Fiction Stories Inspired by Microsoft.
"The Justified". (2019). The Mythic Dream.
Set in the Ancillary universe
"Night's Slow Poison". (2012) Electric Velocipede, reprinted (2014). Tor.[14]
"She Commands Me and I Obey". (2014). Strange Horizons.[15]
^ 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
^"2016年 第47回星雲賞" [2016 The 47th Seiun Awards]. sf-fan.gr.jp (in Japanese). FSFFGJ. Archived from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.