A press release from Emma Pulitzer of Open Road Media:
In 1987, Octavia Butler published Dawn, the first in the Lilith’s Brood series.
2012 marks the 25th anniversary of this provocative and timeless novel. Butler, one of the few female African-American science fiction writers in the genre, paved the way for future authors and readers with her enthralling stories. Fearlessly questioning social and political norms of power, gender, race, and sexuality, Butler’s genre-bending literature constantly encourages humanity to improve, grow, and change.
Dawn takes place after Earth’s nuclear fallout. Driven by their urge to seek new life forms, the Oankali survive by genetically merging with other species. They rescue the few human survivors and over centuries restore the planet for cohabitation between Oankali and human communities. Lilith Iyapo struggles to be accepted in both the human and alien worlds reflect the same racial, sexual, gender, reproductive, and political issues we experience in our daily lives.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Dawn, we have created this mini-documentary featuring author N. K. Jemisin speaking about the novel’s importance as well as the subsequent books in the series. You can view the video on YouTube here or on our site here.
For more information on Octavia E. Butler and her literature, you can view her author page here or visit her Facebook fan page here. We also have a never-before published archival photo of her signing copies of Dawn, which can be viewed on our blog here.