Octavia Estelle Butler was a renowned American science fiction writer, widely recognized for her award-winning novels and short stories. She was one of the best-known African-American women in the field of science fiction. Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Grant in 1995.

Born in Pasadena, California, Butler was raised by her widowed mother. Despite being extremely shy as a child, she found solace in libraries and began writing science fiction as a teenager. She attended community college during the Black Power movement and participated in a local writer's workshop, which encouraged her to attend the Clarion Workshop focused on science fiction.

Butler sold her first stories soon after and became successful enough by the late 1970s to write full-time. Her works, known for their lean prose, strong protagonists, and insightful social observations, often explored themes such as Black injustice, global warming, women's rights, and political disparity.

Some of her acclaimed novels include "Parable of the Sower" (1993) and "Parable of the Talents" (1995), the latter of which won the Nebula Award for Best Novel. Her short story "Bloodchild" received the Hugo, Locus, and Science Fiction Chronicle Awards in 1985.

Butler's work is now taught in over 200 colleges and universities nationwide. She passed away on February 24, 2006, yet her literary contributions continue to resonate, as issues addressed in her Afro-Futuristic, feminist novels have grown increasingly relevant.