In 1968, Damon Knight published Vinge's novella "Grimm's Story" as part of Orbit 4. Knight told Vinge that if he expanded the novella to book-length, then he would get Vinge a contract with Berkley Books, where Knight worked as a science fiction editor. Vinge wrote an extension, and it became his first published novel.^[1] In 1987, Vinge revised the novel for Baen Books and added a new opening section, changing the title to Tatja Grimm's World.