While Devil Girl from Mars inspired Octavia E. Butler to beg her mother for a typewriter, it is her writing that has inspired others to celebrate her legacy in a myriad of different ways. Ava DuVernay and Charles King have the rights to Butler’s book Dawn and plan to make it a television Series. Adrienne Maree Brown and Walidah Imarisha created the collection Octavia’s Brood which features social justice activists writing their own science fiction to address the challenges of our day. Parable of the Sower has been transformed into an Opera by legendary folk artists Toshi Reagon and her mother Bernice Johnson Reagon. And there’s us, Ayana and Moya who are helping to keep this network of people working in Octavia Butler’s legacy connected.

To learn more about Octavia E. Butler’s work, check out her archive at the Huntington Library.

Next Section »