Octavia E. Butler (2005)

Butler wrote three sets of interlocking novels and two single-volume novels. Her 1979 novel Kindred, where the main character, Edana (Dana) Franklin, is swept from her 1976 life to the antebellum south,is one of her best known works. Along with the uncontrolled time travel, readers are forced to consider ideas about the United States’ long history of slavery. Kindred was later adapted for the stage at the Seeing Ear Theater, with Alfre Woodard starring as Edana. Before her sudden death in 2005, which left fans devastated, Butler published Fledgling (2005), which has been called her “final masterpiece.” Butler was a beloved writer and will remain an essential name when discussing African American and female Science Fiction writers.