Octavia E. Butler was a towering figure in American literature, a true pioneer.

For many years the only major Black woman writer of science fiction, her novels challenged static notions of genre, sex, gender, and humanity with unerring rigor and prescience. A winner of both Nebula and Hugo Awards, the force and power of her imagination expanded the horizons of what fiction could do and led the way of generations of writers to follow.

Now her trailblazing conversations --ranging from an early interview published in a cult sci-fi fanzine to her final conversation with a young podcaster, recorded just weeks before her untimely death-- are collected here in tribute to her legacy.