A science fiction writer from Pasadena, California known as the “Grand Dame of Science Fiction,” Butler addressed race, sexuality, gender, religion, social class, and the environment in her books, becoming one of the first African American women to be recognized as a major science fiction writer. Despite mild dyslexia that made school difficult, and being told African Americans couldn’t be writers, she began writing at age ten and never stopped. She went on to become the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship, along with Hugo and Nebula awards.