Octavia E. Butler, a groundbreaking African-American science fiction writer who would have turned 71 on Friday, was honored with a Google Doodle that celebrates her contributions to the literary world.
Butler was one of the first writers in science fiction — traditionally dominated by white male authors — to include diverse protagonists in her stories, and was widely admired for evocatively exploring hierarchies and human flaws in her work.
Sadly, as an avid science fiction fan, I had not heard about Octavia E. Butler until today when I noticed the Google Doodle. According to WikiPedia, she was the ".. recipient of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, in 1995 she became the first science fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship.". I think I'll want to read some of her novels especially the Xenogenesis series.
