Octavia Butler was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California, USA. She was a writer, known for Parable of the Sower, Kindred (2022) and Wild Seed. She died on February 24, 2006 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, USA.
In 1995, she became the first science-fiction writer to be awarded the
MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant, which paid her US$295,000 over a
5-year period. The award is given annually to people who challenge and
expand the boundaries of their chosen fields.
Was the first African American woman to gain popularity and critical
acclaim as a major science-fiction writer, championed by and protégée
of Harlan Ellison.
She began writing at age 10. In 1970, she attended a fantasy writer's workshop in East Lansing, Michigan.
Daughter of Laurice and Octavia M. "Guy" Butler, she was the only child
of five pregnancies that her mother was able to carry to full
term.
I'm...comfortably asocial -- a hermit in the middle of Seattle -- a
pessimist if I'm not careful, a feminist, a Black [person], a former
Baptist, an oil-and-water combination of ambition, laziness,
insecurity, certainty, and drive.