[Pride In Horror Month] - Spotlight on Octavia Butler
Octavia Butler is one of the most well-known Science Fiction authors in literature, but how much do you know about her? We've put together a little biography of her career as a writer (Or you can check out the TLDR timeline at the end for a crash course!)
Octavia Butler, born June 22nd 1947, is a notable name in Science Fiction Literature. Butler is one of very few African American Women in the genre. Her impressive body of work includes novels and short stories whose themes explore race, genetics, family structure, and human interest, and which combine elements of Science Fiction with African American Spiritualism and Fantasy.
Butler grew up in a strict Baptist household in an impoverished, mixed-race neighbourhood in the city of Pasadena, California. Both of her parents worked service jobs, her father a shoe-shiner and her mother a house maid; the injustices, prejudices, and hardships they faced have inspired many of the topics in Butler’s writing. She lost her father at a very young age, and was therefore raised by her Mother and Grandmother. As a child she was known for being very shy, and spent a lot of time reading and writing. Although she was later diagnosed as dyslexic, this did not deter her from a love of words. She began writing at the tender age of 10, and decided to make Writing her life’s work. At the age of 12, she was inspired to try her hand at writing Science Fiction after watching a terrible Sci-Fi B-Movie called “Devil Girls from Mars” and was writing ever since.
Butler took her craft very seriously and maintained a very strict writing schedule for several hours per day. In 1968, she graduated with an Associates Degree from Pasadena City College. She transferred to CalState, and eventually went to UCLA for writing workshops. It was during one of these workshops, in 1969, that she met and befriended fellow writer Harlan Ellison who in turn introduced her to Samuel R Delaney.
In 1971, she published her first short story “Crossover.” Another short story, “Childfinder”, was purchased by Harlan Ellison for publication in his ill-fated “The Last Dangerous Visions”; the anthology was never published, and none of the stories, including “Childfinder,” have since been published.
In 1974, Butler began working on the Patternist series, and its first installment, “Patternmaster,” was published in 1976, making it her first published novel. In 1976, Butler gained much notoriety for her Historical Science Fiction novel, “Kindred.” She continue to publish several other novels throughout the 70s and 80s, receiving both Nebula Awards and Hugo Awards for her work. In 1996, The MacArthur Foundation awarded Butler the “Genius Grant.” She was the first Science-Fiction writer to receive this award; it allowed her to purchase a home for herself and her mother.
Butler was a noted perfectionist, and frequently struggled with writer’s block. In later years, she also struggled with chronic illnesses and medication side effects. As a result, she started many drafts but abandoned most, until finally finishing what would become her 2005 novel Fledgling.
The TLDR: A Timeline of Octavia Butler’s Life and Work
- 1947 Born June 22nd
- 1957 discovers a love of writing
- 1959 pens her first science fiction story after a bad scifi film inspired her
- 1968 Graduated with Associates Degree from Pasadena City College
- 1969-1970 Attends “The Pen Door Workshop for the Screenwriter’s Guild of America, West” (A program for Latinx/African American Writers)
- 1969 meets harlan ellison
- 1970 meets samuel r delany
- 1971 First published story, “Crossover”
- 1974 begins writing the Patternist series
- 1976 Publishes Patternmaster
- 1977 Publishes Mind of My Mind
- 1978 Publishes Survivor
- 1979 Publishes Kindred
- 1980 Publishes Wild Seed
- 1984 Publishes Clay’s Ark
- 1984 wins the Best Short Story Hugo Award for “Speech Sounds”
- 1984 wins Nebula Award for novellette “Bloodchild”
- 1987 begins writing the Xenogenesis Trilogy with Dawn
- 1988 Publishes Adulthood Rites
- 1989 Publishes Imago
- 1991 Publishes The Evening and the Morning and the Night
- 1993 Publishes “Parable of the Sower”
- 1994 nominated for Nebula for Best Novel for “Parable of the Sower”
- 1995 Becomes first Sci-Fi writer to receive “Genius Grant” from MacArthur Foundation
- 1995 Publishes Bloodchild stories collection
- 1998 Publishes “Parable of the Talents”
- 1999 Wins Nebula for Best Novel for “Parable of the Talents”
- 2000 Awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing by the PEN American Center
- 2005 Publishes her final novel, Fledgling
- 2006 Dies outside her home on Febraury 24th 2006
- 2009 Conversations with Octavia Butler is published posthumously
- 2014 Unexpected Stories is published posthumously
By Ellen Avigliano
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