Two previously unpublished, newly discovered early works written by science-fiction author Octavia Butler will be e-collected and e-published in e-book form by Open Road Media, a digital publisher. “A Necessary Being” and “Childminder” will be combined into one e-volume titled Unexpected Stories and is due for e-release on June 24.
Though primarily considered a science-fiction author, Butler’s works frequently explored a variety of topics, including gender, poverty, race, alienation, power, and corruption. Butler won both the Hugo and Nebula awards several times, and was the first science-fiction author to receive the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, or “Genius Grant,” in 1995. Her most well-known works are the Parable series, which includes Nebula winner Parable Of The Talents, and the Patternmaster series. Butler died in 2006.