Octavia e butler historical fiction series#

Octavia e butler historical fiction series#

This series of books explores issues of genetics and race. In the late 1980s, Butler published her Xenogenesis trilogy - Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988) and Imago (1989). She won the 1984 Best Short Story Hugo Award for 'Speech Sounds.' That same year, the novelette 'Bloodchild' won a Nebula Award and later a Hugo as well. In the mid-1980s, Butler began to receive critical recognition for her work. It was this passionate interest in the human experience that imbued her work with a certain depth and complexity. But for Butler, it largely served as a vehicle to address issues facing humanity. So I wanted to write a novel that would make others feel the history: the pain and fear that black people have had to live through in order to endure.' Literary Awardsįor some writers, science fiction serves as means to delve into fantasy. 'If my mother hadn't put up with all those humiliations, I wouldn't have eaten very well or lived very comfortably. 'I didn't like seeing her go through back doors,' she once said, according to The New York Times. In part, Butler drew some inspiration from her mother's work. The novel tells the story of an African American woman who travels back in time to save a white slave owner-her own ancestor. In 1979, Butler had a career breakthrough with Kindred.

(Butler's publishing house would later group the works as the Patternist series, presenting them in a different reading order from when they were chronologically published.) The other related titles are Mind of My Mind (1977), Wild Seed (1980) and Clay's Ark (1984). This book would ultimately become part of an ongoing storyline about a group of people with telepathic powers called Patternists. In 1976, Butler published her first novel, Patternmaster. She was known to work for several hours very early in the morning each day.

To make ends meet, Butler took all sorts of jobs while maintaining a strict writing schedule. Butler also studied her craft with Harlan Ellison at the Clarion Fiction Writers Workshop. She later earned an associate degree from Pasadena City College. Butler started creating her own stories early on, and she decided to make writing her life's work around the age of 10. She was dyslexic, but she didn't let this challenge deter her from developing a love of books. To support the family, her mother worked as a maid.Īs a child, Butler was known for her shyness and her impressive height. She lost her father at a young age and was raised by her mother.

Butler thrived in a genre typically dominated by white males. Writer Octavia Estelle Butler was born in Pasadena, California, on June 22, 1947, later breaking new ground as a woman and an African American in the realm of science fiction. She continued to write and publish until her death on February 24, 2006, in Seattle, Washington. Butler went on to write several other novels, including Kindred (1979) as well as Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998), of the Parable series. Her first novel, Patternmaster (1976), would ultimately become one of the installments in the four-volume Patternist series. Her books blended elements of science fiction and African American spiritualism. Butler studied at several universities and began her writing career in the 1970s.