Octavia Butler: The Grand Dame of Science Fiction

Rebel Girls

Kids & Family, Stories For Kids, Education For Kids

4.5 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Once upon a time, there was a shy, dreamy kid who wouldn’t stop writing. Her name was Octavia -- a girl with social anxiety and dyslexia who wrote some of the most amazing science fiction novels about wild futures, space adventures, and superhuman people. She wrote more than a dozen books and is now known as the Grand Dame of Science Fiction. About the Narrator After earning a college degree in Human Biology from the University of Toronto, Amita Parikh moved to London where she completed the six month Curtis Brown Creative Writing Course, the Royal Court Theatre’s Writer’s Programme and was a runner-up in the 2019 Jericho Writer’s Bursary Competition for under-represented writers. Her debut historical fiction novel, The Circus Train, will be published in multiple countries in 2022. When she’s not writing, she works as a marketer and developer in the tech industry and produces and hosts a podcast about women and girls in sport. Credits This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls and is based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. This episode was produced by Camille Stennis. Sound design and mixing by Bianca Salinas. This episode was written by Jestine Ware and fact checked by Joe Rhatigan. Executive Producer is Katie Sprenger. Haley Dapkus is our Production Manager. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi. A big thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team who make this show possible! For more, visit rebelgirls.com. And if you like what you heard, don’t forget to rate and review this episode, and share it with your friends! Until next time, stay REBEL!

Transcript

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0:00.0	Once upon a time, there was a shy, dreamy kid who grew up immersed in a fantastic world of science fiction.
0:13.3	Her name was Octavia.
0:16.6	Octavia was obsessed with superheroes and fantasy people, living impossible and interesting lives.
0:25.6	People could fly, communicate with animals, change shapes, and control people's minds.
0:47.8	In 1951 at age 4, in Pasadena, California, Octavia laid on the scratchy, braided rug in the living room alone.
0:57.0	Her mother was at work cleaning people's houses, and her grandmother was cooking up something that smelled delicious in the kitchen. She rested her skinny back against the couch and thought about the last time her mother had a day off.
1:05.0	They'd gone to the carnival, and she was drawn to the sleek, muscled animals in a small dusty pen.
1:16.9	Her eyes were wide with wonder as she watched the horses do incredible tricks.
1:24.4	One stubborn horse didn't want to rear up on its hind legs.
1:28.3	A whip crack and Octavia jumped.
1:31.3	The horse looked scared.
1:34.3	When she looked closer, they all looked a little tired, sad, and grumpy.
1:40.3	She thought they'd rather be running free in a nice green field instead.
1:45.0	In a dreamy voice, Octavia began her story.
1:51.0	Once upon a time, she whispered, there were lots of special horses.
1:58.0	They could turn into anything.
2:01.6	They sprouted wings and flew away from the mean carnival.
2:06.6	And they were free.
2:11.6	This was just one story, but Octavia would grow up to be a writing legend.
2:22.2	I'm Amita Perrick, and this is Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, a fairy tale podcast about
2:29.6	the rebel women who inspire us. On this episode, Octavia Butler, the Grand Dame of Science Fiction,
2:37.6	who changed the genre forever. A 12-year-old Octavia sat in a dark theater that smelled like
	...

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