Tag: Octavia E. Butler

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2018 Octavia Birthday Fundraiser

June 22 is Octavia E. Butler’s birthday–she’d be 71 years old if she were still alive today.  Butler was a writer, a visionary, and a genuine, certified genius–and also a community-minded activist who worked to make a place for people of color within the science fiction, fantasy, and horror communities. In that spirit, the Carl Brandon Society is celebrating Octavia’s time here with a Butler Birthday fundraiser that will allow us to continue her work and change the world of speculative fiction the way she changed it–for the better.

Our goal is to raise $10,000 by July 22. Reaching this goal will allow us to continue our major programs, such as the Octavia E. Butler Scholarships for writers of color attending the Clarion and Clarion West writing workshops, and also our Parallax and Kindred awards for excellence in literature challenging racial and ethnic stereotypes.

To date, CBS has funded 23 scholarships for students of color attending the Clarion and Clarion West workshops, presented 6 Kindred and 7 Parallax Awards, and provided 19 years of support and strategizing for People of Color seeking representation in our field. All with the help of generous donors like you.

The Carl Brandon Society is a 501(c)3 organization, so your donation is tax-deductible in the U.S.

We have been offered several donor challenges: over $2500 is pledged to us as matching funds for your gifts. Every dollar you send means we get another, matching dollar from one of our challenge pledge donors–up to $2500!

Donate now electronically (credit and debit cards accepted) by clicking the button below:




Or send a check or money order made out to the Carl Brandon Society to:

The Carl Brandon Society
P.O. Box 23336
Seattle, WA 98102

Thank you!

The Carl Brandon Society Steering Committee

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Fundraising Tally, Big Thanks, And The Winners of the Butler Scholarship eReader Drawing

Last night the Drawing came to a close and now it’s time to announce the winners of the 5 eReaders and the autographed Dark Matter anthology. But first, I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who made this fundraiser successful.

We raised $4,520 from tickets sales and so far $490 in direct donations since the drawing began. We haven’t even calculated all of the donations sent in via mail yet! Right now the total stands at $5,010, which is simply amazing. Our original goal was just $1,000. Once we blew past that in the first 4 days, we set our sights on raising $3,200, the price of a Clarion West tuition. Once we met that goal, our next was to raise $4,950, enough for a tuition to Clarion Diego. In the last 30 hours of the drawing we sold 799 tickets and blew past that goal, too. Thanks to those of you who bought tickets and donated we were able to exceed our goals time and again. We appreciate your participation and generosity so much. Thank you.

Next, a huge, huge thank you to Jenn Brissett. Without her we never would have been able to pull this drawing off. She did all the technical wizardry on the backend and when problems arose (and they did… oh they did) she worked hard to fix them and keep the drawing going. All while doing her graduate work and under major time crunches. Jenn is nothing short of an angel, and we all so, so appreciate her hard work.

Thanks to the other folks behind the scenes who helped put this whole thing together: Candra Gill, who took care of all the other technical needs surrounding the CBS website plus was smart about everything; Nisi Shawl, Claire Light and Kate Schaefer, who gave support, advice, guidance, and time as we rushed to make this whole thing a reality; Pablo Defendini and Nivair Gabriel who volunteered to convert stories into ePub files to make them compatible with the eReaders (for which I am eternally grateful); Matt Kressel whose work on the KGB Raffle inspired us to try it here and who offered advice and technical know-how. And thanks to the members of the Carl Brandon Society board who gave the green light to begin with.

I can never convey enough gratitude to the companies that donated the technology. Barnes & Noble, Kobo and Spring Design all jumped at the chance to be a part of this fundraiser. Thanks for making such wonderful, tempting eReaders and for supporting literature in the digital age.

A big, big thank you to all of the writers and publishers who sent us fiction, poetry and essays to include with the eReaders. The full list is here. The eReaders were a big draw, of course, but your donations added an extra layer of awesome to the prizes.

Everyone who spread the word about this online, on social networks, via blogs, or by word of mouth: thank you.

And now, here are the winners:

The winner of the Spring Design Alex eReader is: Kang-Yun Tsai
The winners of the Barnes & Noble Nook are: David Linder and Joshua Kidd
The winners of the Kobo Wireless Reader are: Jessica Nasca and Molly Aplet
The winner of the autographed copy of the Dark Matter anthology is: Deanne Fountaine
Congratulations to all of you! If we haven’t contacted you directly yet, we will very soon.
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Last Day To Win An eReader! To Tempt You, Some Surprises…

It’s here! The final day of the eReader drawing to support the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Scholarship Fund. Less than 12 hours to buy tickets and win a Barnes & Noble Nook, a Kobo Wireless Reader, or an Alex eReader. And, of course, there’s still an autographed Dark Matter up for grabs.

We’ve spent the last week urging you to buy tickets and show your support, and many of you already have. As we’re in the final stretch, we’re hoping for one last surge of ticket buying. To that end, we have some surprises for you.
First, we’re adding one more short story to the mix by Nalo Hopkinson! The story has not yet been determined, but it’s Nalo. I mean, what more could you want?
Not enough? Okay then, we’re also throwing in a copy of Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories, edited(and donated) by JoSelle Vanderhooft. This won’t even be out in stores until January. You will get an advanced peak at this steamy goodness. But only if you buy tickets.
And finally, if eReaders don’t move you, if free fiction and poetry and essays don’t move you, if autographed first editions don’t move you, maybe this will:
…what the Octavia E. Butler Scholarship [meant] to me… it meant everything.
…I deeply value my Clarion a-ha moments, but realistically speaking, I might have been willing to take out a loan for Clarion.
It was having that trust while I was there, and after. And needing to live up to it.
That gave me both the cluebat that I should stand for things I care about, and the confidence to do so when it scared the shit out of me. …The scholarship, and Butler’s writing, both helped me become someone other than the sit down and shut up outsider.
…the POC at the last few Clarions have knocked my socks off, and the Butler scholarship helps some of us become people who’ll knock your socks off.