12 December,2020 11:45 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ursula K Le Guin. Pic/AFP
In a bizarre incident, a clothing brand's decision to reach out to an author to become their brand ambassador received mixed reactions on social media. Wonder why? Because the writer in question was dead long ago.
American author Ursula K. Le Guin, who is best known for her works of speculative fiction, especially for introducing tough-minded feminist sensibility to science fiction passed away on January 22, 2018, at the age of 88. However, Guin's social media accounts are still active and managed by her literary estate.
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The head of public relations of an unidentified international brand reached out to the author, who is now no more to wear their leggings as they "LOVE" her style. Asking her to be one of their "brand ambassadors", the representative wrote: "To celebrate our new collection, we want to give you a FREE pair of leggings so you can post a picture of you wearing them and drive more exposure to our brand".
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While redacting the brand's name, Le Guin's estate shared the letter and wrote: "I don't think this will work out the way you hope, Laura. Oh, social media."
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The letter received a lot of mixed responses on Instagram and Twitter. One user said, "If I could have a crumb of Ursula's life... RI," while a second user commented, "Ursula Le Guin died in 2018 - the Twitter account is run by her estate." A third comment read, "Ursula this could be huge for you."
Here's how tweeple reacted:
For many who don't know, American author Le Guin was the first women writer to win both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Science Fiction writing. However, the recognition came after decades of struggling to get her work published. Today, Guin is considered among the greatest sci-fi and fantasy writers of all time.
Le Guin published her first novel, "Rocannon's World," in 1966 but found breakthrough success with the publication in 1969 of "The Left Hand of Darkness," which won a litany of prizes and became a great science fiction classic.
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