Octavia Estelle Butler
(June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006)
She was an American science fiction writer. A multiple recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, Butler was one of the best-known women in the field. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship, nicknamed the “Genius Grant”. 2012: Solstice Award
2010: Inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame
2005: Langston Hughes Medal of The City College
2000: Lifetime Achievement Award in Writing from the PEN American Center
1999: Nebula Award for Best Novel – Parable of the Talents
1995: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant
1988: Science Fiction Chronicle Award for Best Novelette – “The Evening and the Morning and the Night”
1985: Locus Award for Best Novelette – “Bloodchild”
1985: Hugo Award for Best Novelette – “Bloodchild”
1985: Science Fiction Chronicle Award for Best Novelette – “Bloodchild”
1984: Nebula Award for Best Novelette – “Bloodchild”
1984: Hugo Award for Best Short Story – “Speech Sounds”
1980: Creative Arts Award, L.A. YWCA
In 2005, she was inducted into Chicago State University’s International Black Writers Hall of Fame.
Butler died outside of her home in Lake Forest Park, Washington, on February 24, 2006, aged 58. Contemporary news accounts were inconsistent as to the cause of her death, with some reporting that she suffered a fatal stroke, while others indicated that she died of head injuries after falling and striking her head on her walkway. Another suggestion, backed by Locus magazine, is that a stroke caused the fall and hence the head injuries. After her death, the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship was established by the Carl Brandon Society to provide support to students of color to attend the Clarion West Writers Workshop and Clarion Writers’ Workshop, descendants of the original Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop where Butler had gotten her start 35 years before.
Scholarship fund
The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship was established in Butler’s memory in 2006 by the Carl Brandon Society. Its goal is to provide an annual scholarship to enable writers of color to attend the Clarion West Writers Workshop and Clarion Writers’ Workshop, descendants of the original Clarion Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop in Clarion, Pennsylvania, where Butler got her start. The first scholarships were awarded in 2007.