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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society

@oebsociety.bsky.social

320 followers 7 following 22 posts

A gathering place for academics, writers, readers, and future enthusiasts of Octavia E. Butler's work. Our primary goal? To preserve the legacy and life of this influential author. http://linktr.ee/oebliterarysociety

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · 23d

Call for Submissions!

Abstracts due: October 5, 2025

Submission types: Scholarly essays, fiction, poetry, visual art

No AI-generated content

Publication: 2027

Details on flyer; scan the QR code for details or select this URL: docs.google.com/document/u/0...

#Afrofuturism

Black Cultural Futurism: Ifá, Indigenous African Beliefs & Black Survival
Reimagining Black futures beyond Afrofuturism—rooted in Ifá, African epistemologies, and diasporic survival.

Abstracts due: October 5, 2025

Submission types: Scholarly essays, fiction, poetry, visual art

No AI-generated content
Anticipated Publication: 2027

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Sep 10

‘Positive Obsession’ Is a Fresh Look at #OctaviaEButler -- A new biography by Susana M. Morris reveals the struggles, passions and triumphs that shaped the science fiction icon and her books. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/b....

‘Positive Obsession’ Is a Fresh Look at Octavia E. Butler

www.nytimes.com

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Sep 10

All That You Touch, You Change: The Life and Legacy of Octavia E. Butler: ancillaryreviewofbooks.org/2025/07/08/a...

All That You Touch, You Change: The Life and Legacy of Octavia E. Butler

Helena Ramsaroop Octavia E. Butler passed away nearly twenty years ago, but her legacy lives on in every reader she touched with her words. She is often regarded as one of the most important writer…

ancillaryreviewofbooks.org

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Sep 9

CFP: Black Cultural Futurism

Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Aug 19

Happy Publication Day to Susana M. Morris!

Her biography on Ms. Butler, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler, officially releases today!

Congrats!

#octaviabutler #parableofthesower

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Jun 22

Happy 78th Birthday to Octavia E. Butler!

Butler’s legacy is full speed ahead, thanks to so many groups, businesses, schools, scholars, artists, writers, and more.

Whether you’re new to Butler or just getting started, there’s something for everyone—even our four legged friends!

#octaviabutler

Tuxedo cat standing next to a stack of books written by Octavia E. Butler

Tuxedo cat standing next in between two stacks of books written by Octavia E. Butler

Image of a cat standing next to books written by Octavia E. Butler with the text, "Happy 78th Birthday, Octavia E. Butler! Celebrating 12 Years of Octavia E. Butler Literary Society! What we've been up to this past year--and more!" At the bottom is a link to the Society's blog hosted on Substack. oebsociety.substack.com

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · May 27

Join us in celebrating Butler's birthday month with our 2nd "Wild Seeds: A Tuesday Accountability Group."

We invite content creators, educators, writers, and anyone seeking a focused work environment to join our free virtual working space on Zoom from 1-4 PM ET Tuesdays in June!

#octaviabutler

Join us in celebrating Octavia E. Butler's Birthday Month with the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society's 2nd "Wild Seeds: A Tuesday Accountability Group."

We invite content creators, educators, writers, and anyone seeking a focused work environment to join our free virtual working space on Zoom!

Scan the QR code or use the link in our bio to register for the free Zoom session

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · May 25

The Octavia E. Butler Literary Society hosted three panels at the 2025 American Literature Association Conference in Boston, MA. Each session was invigorating! #octaviabutler #parableofthesower #wildseed #pedagogy #blackwriter #academicsky

Scholars (L-R): Victoria Moten, Mary Moore, and Josie Defaye for the Session titled Comparative Approaches to Octavia E. Butler's Fiction at the 2025 American Literature Association Convention held in Boston, MA

Scholars (L-R): Emma Fox, Christina Delray, and Dr. Karyn L. Hixson for the Session titled God is Change: Explorations of Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower at the 2025 American Literature Association Convention held in Boston, MA

Scholars (L-R): Deanna Monique Daniels, Kendra R. Parker, Punam Mehta (pictured on screen), and Dr. Maureen McDonnell for the Session titled Make People Feel! Pedagogical Approaches to Octavia E. Butler at the 2025 American Literature Association Convention held in Boston, MA

Audience members participating in Q&A during an OEBLS panel at ALA 2025 in Boston, MA

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · May 24

Happy Founder's Day to the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society!

#octaviabutler #earthseed #parable

An image with the words, "Celebrating 12 Years of the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society," written on the front with a picture of Octavia E. Butler gazing out into the distance

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Apr 30

The Octavia E. Butler Literary Society had a special session at the 2025
@clascholars.bsky.social Convention in Vancouver, WA last week!

"The special session was titled, Octavia E. Butler in Expanding Conversations:
Ecology, Indigeneity, and Black Liberation"

#octaviabutler #CLAGoesWest

The Octavia E. Butler Literary Society had a special session at the 2025 College Language Association Convention in Vancouver, WA last week!

The special session was titled, Octavia E. Butler in Expanding Conversations:
Ecology, Indigeneity, and Black Liberation"

Pictured left to right at a table in front of a window are Dr. Mario A. Chandler (session chair), Sarah Rude Walker (presenter), R. Nicole Smith (presenter), Stefanie Dunning (presenter).

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Apr 22

Happy Publication Day to John A. Jennings and Damian Duffy!

Their graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler's #ParableOfTheTalents officially releases today!

Congrats!

#parableofthesower #earthseed #parableofthetalents #olamina #octaviabutler

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Apr 10

Join the Octavia E. Butler Seminar panel at PAMLA 2025 in San Francisco ! Submit your paper proposals on "Palimpsests: Memory and Oblivion" or any Butler-related topic by May 15, 2025.

For more info visit: bit.ly/OEB-PAMLA

#OctaviaButler

A call for papers (CFP) flyer for the Octavia E. Butler Seminar at PAMLA 2025. Seeking paper proposals that explore Octavia E. Butler’s oeuvre for a special session at PAMLA 2025.
Event info: Thursday, November 20 to Sunday, November 23, 2025, in San Francisco, CA.
Session format: Seminar with 4 to 7 participants who share papers in advance and present a brief 5- to 7-minute summary, followed by extended Q&A.
PAMLA 2025 Theme: "Palimpsests: Memory and Oblivion" — exploring how the past haunts the present and future in Butler’s work. Submissions on remembering, forgetting, erasure, and lingering presences are welcome but not required to be on theme.
Contact: Presiding officer Jade Saffery – jadejsaffery910@gmail.com
Submission details: 250- to 500-word paper proposals due by Thursday, May 15, 2025. Submit proposals at bit.ly/OEB-PAMLA.

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Apr 8

#NationalLibraryWeek

Butler grew up in libraries, loved them, and wrote there. Back in 1993 she sounded the alarm about libraries being sacrificed and she warned of the "intellectual drought" that would come if we didn't "[consider] the consequences of our self-destructive behavior"
#octaviabutler

This picture includes a quote from Octavia E. Butler's "Free Libraries: Are They Becoming Extinct?" written in August 1993 for Omni magazine. The quote reads,

"To save money, branch libraries are being closed, being sacrificed the way some trees are supposed to sacrifice branches during a drought. In fact, we're creating an intellectual drought that can only be made worse by such sacrifice. We're doing ourselves lasting harm in exchange for the ephemeral good of quick-fix budget cuts. It's time we stopped, considered the consequences of our self-destructive behavior, and made the necessary changes."

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Mar 12

Olamina Daily.

#Parableofthesower #OctaviaButler #Earthseed

A digital image features a quote from Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler, formatted as a journal entry with the date "Wednesday, March 12, 2025." The entry reads, "People go to bed soon after dark to save electricity, but between dinner and darkness they spend time on their porches or in their yards where it isn’t so hot. Some listen to their radio on front or back porches. Now and then people get together to play music, sing, play board games, talk, or get out on the paved part of the street for volleyball, touch football, basketball, or tennis... A few people just find a corner and read a book while there’s still daylight. It’s a good, comfortable, recreational time. What a pity to spoil it with reminders of reality. But it can’t be helped."

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Mar 11

New on the blog: 48 Everyday Things to Do to Resist

48 Everyday Things to Do to Resist

Ed Chang

buff.ly

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Feb 22

From Parable of the Sower

#OlaminaDaily #OctaviaButler

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Feb 22

From our free Acorn: Rejuvenating Activity Kit we launched last year. Access it here:

https://buff.ly/4bkrKYA

#OctaviaButler

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Feb 19

From #ParableOfTheSower

#OlaminaDaily #OctaviaButler

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Feb 13

Who are your people?
Who is your community?
How can you show them love today?

Happy #BlackLove Day!

#ValentinesDay #BlackLove #BlackLoveDay #OctaviaButler #WildSeed

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Feb 1

From #ParableOfTheSower

#OlaminaDaily #OctaviaButler

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Jan 19

As California Burns, ‘Octavia Tried to Tell Us’ Has New Meaning www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/u...

As California Burns, ‘Octavia Tried to Tell Us’ Has New Meaning

The phrase, which gained momentum in 2020, has resurfaced, in part because it can seem like Octavia Butler was more than a fiction writer.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Octavia E. Butler Literary Society

PortfolioCarmel @portfoliocarmel.bsky.social · Jan 12

Octavia E. Butler’s Library Card
Los Angeles Public Library

© Octavia E. Butler The Huntington Library | San Marino
Image from the exquisite book by Lynell George
@lynellgeorge.bsky.social

a handful of earth
a handful of sky

the world of
Octavia E. Butler

Read: www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a...

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Octavia E. Butler Literary Society @oebsociety.bsky.social · Jan 15

The LA Fires Aren't a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What? Teen Vogue connects the work of the late sci-fi writer Octavia E. Butler to the Los Angeles fires that have so far burned through 35,000 acres. www.teenvogue.com/story/la-fir...

Black Sci-Fi Writer Octavia Butler Predicted the Dystopia of the LA Fires by Studying History

This week, her hometown of Pasadena has seen at least 5 killed and 5 schools burned to ash.

www.teenvogue.com

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