Author of the Month: Octavia Butler

“I’m black, I’m solitary, I’ve always been an outsider.” ~ Octavia Butler

Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena California and is to this day one of the most prominent science fiction writers. I wanted to feature her this month as it is Black History Month, and I felt that more people should know how cool this woman was -- and still is -- to the development of science fiction.

Butler was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother in a very strict baptist household. As she grew older she earned an Associate’s degree from Pasadena City College, and went on to enroll in California State University and later took writing courses with the UCLA Extension.

She met notable science fiction writer Harlan Ellison at a Screenwriters Guild Open Door Program, who encouraged her to attend a six-week science fiction writing workshop. This was just the beginning.

Alone in a Los Angeles apartment, she collected many rejection slips and worked menial jobs until the publication of her first novel, Patternmaster, in 1976 at the age of 29. Then came Kindred (which is on my reading list) in 1979. The publication of this novel allowed her to focus on her writing full time and she continued to publish short stories and novels until her death in 2006. All together, Butler published 12 best-selling and award winning novels, and several highly praised short stories.

She is the first African American woman to enter the science fiction genre. Her recurring themes of kinship, power dynamics and societal commentary with her strong Black female protagonists is one to celebrate and encourage today. I experienced this in the Lilith’s Brood trilogy and her short story Speech Sounds and am excited to further explore it in Kindred.

Have you read her work? I would love to know your thoughts on this influential woman.