The novel Dune by Frank Herbert was first published as a complete book in August 1965.

Quick date breakdown

  • Herbert wrote Dune over several years in the early 1960s.
  • The story appeared first in magazine form as:
    • “Dune World” (serialized in Analog from December 1963 to February 1964).
* “The Prophet of Dune” (serialized in _Analog_ from January to May 1965).
  • The full novel Dune was then published in book form by Chilton Books in August 1965.

So if you’re asking “when was Dune written,” people usually point to the early 1960s for the writing and serialization, with 1965 as the landmark year it appeared as the finished novel.

TL;DR: Written and serialized in the early 1960s, and published as the complete novel Dune in 1965.

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