OctaviaButler.net A fan blog for Octavia E. Butler, writer.

L. A. Banks fan photo- March 2009 Panel: L. A. Banks (center) and Nnedi Okorafor (right) talk with panel moderator Nina Mercer at the NBWC Symposium, March 28, 2009. (Photo by OctaviaButler.net)

Genre fans are mourning the passing of L. A. Banks, a prolific writer of paranormal fantasy, romance, and even crime thrillers. She wrote the Vampire Huntress Legend series which includes popular books like The Damned, The Forsaken, and Minion.

She also wrote the Crimson Moon series. The most recent books in that series, Never Cry Werewolf and Left for Undead: A Crimson Moon Novel, came out in 2010.

Fans were thrilled by the beginning of a new series about light and dark, angels and evil. The first book in the series, Surrender the Dark, was published in March. It would be great if fans continued the series by writing fiction inspired by her work.

A wonderful event happens tomorrow.  The National Black Writers Conference Bi-Annual Symposium will be held on Saturday, March 28, 2009, 11 AM - 5 PM at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.  This year’s theme is “Celebrating the Life and Work of Octavia E. Butler".  I hope to see you there! For more information: 
 http://www.mec.cuny.edu/spcd/caddi/cbl_nbwc.asp

Today is Octavia Butler's birthday!  Sixty-one years ago today, a legendary writer came into the world.  Her novels and stories have intrigued and inspired thousands of readers.  Over the course of the week, I will be adding a number of posts as we celebrate this important day!

I'm about a month late with this post, but here goes... The Carl Brandon Society is dedicated to improving the visibility of people of color in the speculative genres of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and magical realism. Last month, on their blog, they posted a Black History Month SF Reading List, which includes Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler as the second book.  Check out the list for some excellent reading!

Nalo Hopkinson is an wonderful science fiction and fantasy writer, and a close friend of Octavia Butler. Nalo has written four novels, including her latest, The New Moon's Arms. In April, I emailed her and asked about OEB tributes. She made time to write me back, which I tremendously appreciated. She suggested I join the Carl Brandon Society mailing list.

Click the pic to go to the Carl Brandon Society website.