Octavia E. Butler
A shy, dyslexic girl from Pasadena who taught herself to write science fiction, became the first science fiction writer to win a MacArthur fellowship, and reached the bestseller list 14 years after her death.
Kindred
A woman celebrating her 26th birthday in 1976 California is pulled back to a Maryland slave plantation in 1815, where she must keep alive the white boy who will become her ancestor.8 Published in 1979, it is her best-known book and is widely taught.3
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At a glance
- Born
- Octavia Estelle Butler, June 22, 1947, in Pasadena, California1
- Parents
- Her mother was a housemaid and her father a shoeshiner who died when she was seven1
- Education
- John Muir High School (1965); associate degree, Pasadena City College (1968); writing courses through UCLA Extension13
- Fellowship
- MacArthur Foundation fellowship, 1995, the first given to a science fiction writer13
- Papers
- The Huntington Library, San Marino, California, more than 8,000 cataloged items3
- Died
- February 24, 2006, in Lake Forest Park, Washington, aged 581
- Major awards
- Hugo Award for Best Short Story ("Speech Sounds"), 19843
- Hugo Award for Best Novelette ("Bloodchild"), 19851
- Nebula Award for Best Novelette ("Bloodchild"), 19853
- Nebula Award for Best Novel, 2000, for Parable of the Talents2
Octavia E. Butler's Backstory
Early life
Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947, in Pasadena, California.1 Her mother worked as a housemaid and her father, a shoeshiner, died when she was seven; she was raised by her mother and grandmother in a strict Baptist household.1 She was extremely shy and mildly dyslexic, and spent much of her time reading at the Pasadena Central Library; she got her first typewriter at 10.13
Learning to write
After graduating from John Muir High School in 1965 she earned an associate degree in history from Pasadena City College in 1968, then took writing courses through UCLA Extension.1 With Harlan Ellison’s encouragement she attended the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop in 1970, where she sold her first stories.13
The novels
Her first novel, Patternmaster, appeared in 1976, and she became a full-time writer in 1978.1 Kindred (1979), the story of a Black woman pulled from 1970s California back to a slave plantation in Maryland, became her best-known book.83 She went on to the Xenogenesis trilogy (1987–1989) and the two Parable novels (1993 and 1998); Parable of the Talents won the Nebula Award for Best Novel.12 Her stories “Speech Sounds” and “Bloodchild” won Hugo Awards in 1984 and 1985.3
In 1995 she became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.13 She kept her third novel, Survivor (1978), out of print for the rest of her life because she felt it fell short of her other work.4
Later years and death
After her mother’s death she moved in 1999 to Lake Forest Park, Washington, where she published her last novel, Fledgling, in 2005.1 She died after a fall outside her home there on February 24, 2006, at 58; news accounts at the time differed on the cause.13 Her papers went to The Huntington Library, which opened them to researchers in 2010.13
After her death
Parable of the Sower reached the New York Times bestseller list for the first time in 2020.7 NASA named the Perseverance rover’s 2021 Mars landing site for her, and FX adapted Kindred as a television series in 2022.310
Fun facts
- She decided at 12 that she could write a better story than Devil Girl from Mars, a film she watched on television.1
- Her first money as a writer was $15 from a Pasadena City College short-story contest.1
- She sold a story called "Childfinder" to Harlan Ellison in the early 1970s; it was not published until 2014.1
- NASA named the spot where the Perseverance rover touched down on Mars in 2021 "Octavia E. Butler Landing," and in 2018 a mountain on Pluto's moon Charon was named Butler Mons.3
- Parable of the Sower first made the New York Times bestseller list in September 2020, 14 years after her death, at No. 14 in paperback fiction.7
- In 2022 her former middle school in Pasadena was renamed Octavia E. Butler Magnet, the first school in the country to carry her name.3
Books
In order of first publication. Each series is kept together, in reading order, starting where its first book appeared. Novels and collections, with first-publication years, from Wikipedia's Octavia E. Butler article, checked against the publishers' listings; the omnibus editions Seed to Harvest and Lilith's Brood are left out.17
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Patternist
- 1976
- 1977
- 1978
- 1980
- 1984
- 1979
Xenogenesis (Lilith's Brood)
- 1987
- 1988Book 2Adulthood Rites
- 1989Book 3Imago
Parable (Earthseed)
- 1993
- 1998
- 1995
- 2005
- 2014
Latest news
Grand Central Publishing returned Survivor to print for the first time in nearly 50 years, in an edition with new essays by the scholar Alyssa Collins; Butler had kept the 1978 novel out of print because she felt it was not up to the standard of her other work.64
Reactor reported the planned reprint and noted that Butler had strongly opposed one during her lifetime; her former agent said she refused even when she needed the income.5
The 20th anniversary of her death fell in the same year as the 50th anniversary of her first novel, Patternmaster; The Huntington was showing her notebooks in its exhibition "Stories from the Library: From Brontë to Butler."3
Adaptations and other media
Television
- Kindred2022Based on Kindred
An eight-episode FX series streaming on Hulu, with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins as showrunner and Mallori Johnson as Dana; FX cancelled it after one season.10
Stage
- Parable of the Sower: The Opera2015Based on Parable of the Sower
An opera by Toshi Reagon with Bernice Johnson Reagon, first performed at The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival in New York.1
Comics and graphic novels
- Kindred (graphic novel)2017Based on Kindred
Adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings and published by Abrams in January 2017; it debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times hardcover graphic books list.1
Myth and record
The claimParable of the Talents is often said to have predicted Donald Trump, because its demagogue candidate, Andrew Steele Jarret, promises to "make America great again."9
The recordThe slogan is in the 1998 novel, but it was not new: Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign used it, and Open Culture suggested Butler may have drawn on that campaign rather than foreseeing a later one.9
Timeline
Born in Pasadena, California.1
Earns an associate degree from Pasadena City College.1
Attends the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop, where she sells her first stories.3
Her first novel, Patternmaster, is published.1
Kindred is published.3
"Bloodchild" wins the Hugo Award.1
Parable of the Sower is published.7
Becomes the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur fellowship.1
Moves to Lake Forest Park, Washington, after her mother's death.1
Dies in Lake Forest Park, Washington, at 58.1
Parable of the Sower reaches the New York Times paperback fiction list, her first appearance on it.7
NASA's Perseverance rover lands at a site named "Octavia E. Butler Landing."3
FX's Kindred series premieres.1
Survivor returns to print after nearly 50 years.6
What came after
Grand Central Publishing keeps most of her books in print, and her papers at The Huntington, opened to researchers in 2010, continue to be studied and exhibited.413
Sources
- Octavia E. Butler Wikipedia (via Wikiwand)Reference
- Parable of the Talents (novel) Wikipedia (via Wikiwand)Reference
- Twenty Years After Her Death, Pasadena's Octavia Butler Stands Taller Than Ever Pasadena NowNews
- Octavia Butler's 'Survivor' returns to print nearly 50 years after its release NPR Morning Edition (via WUSF)News
- Octavia Butler's Survivor reprint ReactorNews
- Survivor Hachette Book GroupPrimary record
- Butler on Bestseller List LocusNews
- Kindred Penguin Random House (Beacon Press)Primary record
- Octavia Butler's 1998 Dystopian Novel Features a Fascistic Presidential Candidate Who Promises to "Make America Great Again" Open CultureNews
- FX cancels 'Kindred' after one season TheGrioNews
- Mind of My Mind Hachette Book GroupPrimary record
- Wild Seed Hachette Book GroupPrimary record
- Dawn Hachette Book GroupPrimary record
- Parable of the Sower Porchlight BooksWebsite