Order of Octavia E. Butler Books

Octavia E. Butler was a renowned science-fiction author and the first in the genre to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. She is best known for her novel, Kindred, which tells the story of an African-American woman transported from 1976 Los Angeles to early 19th-century Maryland, where she encounters her ancestors. In 1998, she won the Nebula Award for Best Novel for Parable of the Talents. Additionally, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing from the PEN American Center and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Born in Pasadena, California, in 1947, Butler grew up during a time when young black girls were not expected to pursue writing; the genre was largely dominated by white males, and her mother hoped she would become a secretary. She faced a challenging childhood marked by shyness and mild dyslexia, which led to bullying at school. To cope, she spent her time reading science fiction at the local library. At 10, her mother gifted her a Remington typewriter, enabling her to write more. At 12, after watching the television adaptation of Devil Girl from Mars, she felt inspired to create a better story, which eventually laid the groundwork for her Patternist series.