Octavia Estelle Butler passed away at her Seattle, Washington home on Saturday February 25, 2006.

An only child, she was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California. Her father died when she was very young. Octavia attended school at Pasadena City College, California State University, Los Angeles and UCLA.

Following participation in the Clarion Science Fiction Writers Workshop, her first story, "Crossover" appeared in the 1971 Clarion anthology. Additional sales were slow to develop but in time she published nearly 20 novels and books. Fledgling, her first novel in seven years, was released in the fall of 2005.

Octavia received the PEN Center West Lifetime Achievement Award, 2 Nebula awards and two Hugo Awards. In 1995 she was the recipient of a $295,000 MacArthur Foundation fellowship.

She has been considered the most successful African American woman writing in the science fiction genre.

Obituary in Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Octavia E. Butler page at SFWA.org. Posted February 26, 2006