Octavia E. Butler, writer was 58

Author Steven Barnes is reporting on his blog (picked up by Boing Boing, where Cory Doctorow calls the news confirmed) that Octavia Butler has died in Seattle following a fall at her home yesterday. Her Wikipedia entry has been updated to attribute her death at age 58 to a stroke. As a science fiction writer Butler won the Hugo and Nebula awards, and also was the recipient in 1995 of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (or "genius" grant.) She was born in Pasadena and graduated from Pasadena City College, which lists a bibliography of works by her and about her.

Photo: Pasadena City College