Born in Pasadena, California, Octavia Butler was educated at Pasadena College and California State University. She is a freelance writer and recipient of the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Locus Award, and the Science Fiction Chronicle Award. Among her nine novels are the Patternists and Xenogenesis Series. Kindred was written as a singular novel. She is also a writer of a handful of shorter science fiction pieces, a genre of creativity. Some of her other books include: Parable of the Talents (Seven Stories Press, 1998), Bloodchild, and Other Stories (Four Walls Eight Windows, 1995), Parable of the Sower (Warner Books, 1995), Wild Seed (Doubleday, 1980), and Lilith's Brood (1989).

Octavia Butler served as a contributing editor to FemSpec, up until her death in February 2006.

See also:

• Wikipedia Entry on Octavia Butler
• Octavia E. Bulter Tribute