The books had come against some resistance despite selling well, as her publisher felt that it was risky for her to write for both African-American and female audiences, groups that had notoriously stayed away from the genre. Robin Scott Wilson, the director of Clarion published her story “Crossover” in the 1971 Clarion anthology.īutler continued to work a variety of jobs while working on a series of novels beginning with Patternmaster (1976) and followed by Mind of My Mind (1977), and Survivor (1978). He also suggested that she attend the six-week Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop, where she met Samuel R. Ellison encouraged her, and published one of her stories entitled ‘Child Finder’ in his anthology, The Last Dangerous Visions. Butler attended the Open Door Program at the Screen Writers’ Guild, where she met the esteemed science fiction writer Harlan Ellison who was teaching a class. She would set herself a strict writing schedule and attended first California State University, Los Angeles and then later switched to writing courses through UCLA Extension. She graduated in 1968 with an associate of arts degree with a focus in History.īutler worked a variety of jobs to support herself while pursuing her dream of becoming a writer. As a freshman, she won a college-wide short story contest and during her time at the college she began thinking about the plot of her best-selling novel, Kindred, when a young African-American classmate who was part of the Black Power Movement criticised previous generations for being subservient to whites. She would study at night while working during the day. Butler persevered, and after graduating from John Muir High School in 1965 she continued her education at Pasadena City College. A year later, her aunt Hazel said to her “Honey…Negroes can’t be writers” bringing home the discrimination that a black female writer would have to overcome. She began writing a story which would later become the basis for her first published novel. At the age of 12, Butler watched Devil Girl From Mars and decided she could write a better story. Butler began reading fairy tales and horse stories, but then diversified her interests and developed a passion for science fiction magazines and stories. She found solace in books, spending a lot of her free time reading at the Pasadena Public Library or writing in a big, pink notebook. Butler’s mother would occasionally bring home books that the white children no longer wanted for her to read.īutler was a shy child, and this, coupled with a mild dyslexia made school difficult for her. Butler experienced white supremacy first hand when seeing her mother being forced to go into the house through the back door, being talked about as if she didn’t exist and generally being treated as less than a person. Butler’s mother worked as a maid, and would occasionally take her to work when she had no one to watch her. Her father died at an early age, and she was raised by her mother and maternal grandmother. Her novels include Patternmaster, Kindred, Dawn and Parable of the Sower.īutler was born in 1947 in Pasadena, California. Butler was a world renowned African-American science fiction novelist and the first African-American woman to gain popularity and critical acclaim as a major science fiction writer.
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