When you think of science fiction writing, and particularly female science fiction authors, one of the first to pop into most people’s minds is Octavia Butler. So much of what she wrote is deep in the thread of modern fiction, and her influence is so broad, that we couldn’t possibly NOT feature her this year. And it must be said that, even though she is considered to be a science fiction writer by many, she herself didn’t necessarily agree; Butler resisted being pigeonholed as a genre writer, and claimed to have three loyal audiences: black readers, science-fiction fans, and feminists.
Butler was raised by her mother and grandmother, having lost her father at a young age. She was a shy kid who found solace in the local library, and her mother encouraged her reading and writing. Butler read the heck out of the sci-fi available at the time, but continually found herself disappointed and frustrated by the lack of representation to be found in the works available to her. As her writing career began to take shape, she made conscious efforts to center protagonists that reflected her own life experiences, which was baffling to many editors at the time. A Black woman, centered in a science fiction work? Who would read that? (Sound familiar, friends? It seems like this is what all of our HerStory recipients hear at some time in their journey: since you aren’t centering those that have always been centered, your work has less intrinsic value and interest. GEESH!)
Particularly in these recent times, when the dangers of a lot of what was traditionally reserved for science fiction works look more and more likely to actually come to pass, reading Octavia Butler and her no-holds-barred view of the downfalls of society becomes both more important and more difficult. She doesn’t shy away from the ugliness that can be at the heart of modern society, and the dangers of continuing on a path informed by white supremacy and capitalism. Even through that, there is a thread of hope and redemption that runs through her works, and keeps her on to-read lists everywhere.
The Xenogensis trilogy, also known as Lilith’s Brood, is one of Octavia Butler’s most popular and enduring work, and we’ve used a particularly vibrant version of the cover of book three as our colorway inspiration this month.
Books by Octavia Butler:
- Kindred
- Parable of the Sower / Parable of the Talents
- The Patternist Series
- The Xenogenesis Trilogy
Want more like this? Here are some other authors we suggest you read/listen to:
- Nnedi Okorafor
- Marie Lu
- Nalo Hopkinson
- Rebecca Roanhorse
- Fonda Lee
- Janelle Monae
We hope you enjoy this HerStory Book Club as much as we have enjoyed putting it together. We envision an open-ended Book Club, with folks reading or listening to whichever book they’d like from each author’s If you’d like a spoiler of all of the authors we’ll be showcasing this year, check out our website: https://knittedwit.com/herstory-2022-authors/