The Carl Brandon Society is very pleased to announce that we have more than met the challenge issued by SciFi, Inc. As of Octavia’s birthday, June 22, we’ve received over $2200 in donations, far surpassing their $1500 goal. With SciFi, Inc.’s check that $2200 will become $3700. Thanks so much to everyone who helped make this possible.
We continue to accept donations to the Scholarship Fund online via the PayPal button on our scholarship page, http://carlbrandon.org/butlerscholarship and through the mail at: The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o The Carl Brandon Society, P.O. Box 23336, Seattle WA, 98102.
Octavia E. Butler, 1947-2006, was the first black woman to come to international prominence as a science fiction writer. Her work dealt with race, gender, religion, poverty, power, politics, and science in a way that touched readers of all backgrounds. A critical force, she received numerous awards, including a MacArthur “genius” grant, both the Hugo and Nebula awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, and a PEN Lifetime Achievement award.
The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship will enable writers of color to attend one of the Clarion writing workshops, where Ms. Butler got her start. It is meant to cement her legacy by providing the same opportunity that she had to future generations of new writers of color. In addition to her stint as a student at the original Clarion Writers Workshop in Pennsylvania in 1970, Ms. Butler taught several times for Clarion West in Seattle, Washington, and Clarion in East Lansing, Michigan, giving generously of her time to a cause she believed in.
The first Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarships covering tuition, room, and board have just been awarded to two students of color, who are currently attending Clarion West in Seattle and Clarion in San Diego this summer.
SciFi, Inc. is a California-based non-profit organization that has sponsored several Worldcon Science Fiction Conventions. It is closely associated with the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, of which Ms. Butler was a member.
The Carl Brandon Society is dedicated to addressing the representation of people of color in the fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy and horror, for administration. Ms. Butler was an enthusiastic early member of the Carl Brandon Society, seeing it as another avenue to help people who looked like her have a voice in the world. To learn more about the Carl Brandon Society, visit their website at http://carlbrandon.org.
Donations to the fund by check or money order can be sent to: The Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o The Carl Brandon Society, P.O. Box 23336, Seattle WA, 98102.