Ursula Le Guin wrote and published “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” in 1973. It came on the tail end of the Civil Rights Movement as the country was still reeling from divides over the Vietnam War. An exemplar of speculative fiction, “Omelas” explores a fictional utopian city where its residents’ happiness is dependent on one child’s perpetual suffering. A commentary on suffering and injustice at the time, the story won a Locus Award for Best Short Fiction nomination in 1974 and was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1974.

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