Octavia Estelle Butler’s contribution to speculative fiction remains notable not only for the undisputed quality of her stories, but for the range of social commentary provided and the innovative ways in which that commentary is presented throughout her body of work. Throughout her lifetime, Butler produced 13 novels in addition to a number of essays and Hugo and Nebula award winning short stories. In addition to receiving the MacArthur Fellowship (popularly nicknamed the ‘Genius Grant’) from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in 1995, Butler was the recipient of PEN’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
The story of her career is perhaps especially remarkable because her presence within the realm of the speculative fiction genre was one among such authors as Joanna Russ and Ursula K. LeGuin that, together, introduced female and African American perspectives into a particularly narrow branch of popular literature.
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