so now the most anticipated thing in my life thus far has come to pass. after a five year gestation period where it appeared the child/project would take on various forms, octavia’s brood: science fiction from social justice movements is in the world, and co-editor walidah imarisha and myself are tour planning, about to travel the country and read, workshop, dance and celebrate.

the book itself feels good.

and it’s so beautiful, thanks to the incredible cover design from the prolific graphic artist john jennings.

i have been thinking of octavia butler all weekend, the black science fiction writer who we honor with the title and spirit of this project. i just wanted to take a moment to offer up my deep and sincere gratitude.

thank you octavia, for being such a dedicated and complex being. you are my positive obsession.

thank you for seeing outside of the now you were living in, for imagining beyond this moment, imagining new problems, solutions, social formations.

thank you for the directness of your writing, for being so accessible.

thank you for being so beautiful and strange. for demanding space to be seen and heard, shaping the world, shaping god.

it is a gift to have such an ancestor in the lineage of my calling, and i hope that this collection makes you proud, if pride exists in whatever dimension you’re currently exploring. if not, i hope you feel a burst of joy, of love, feel immersed in the waves of appreciation that those of us living today and working to wake ourselves and others up feel for your alarm bell brilliance.

this is not the beginning of honoring you, and it is not nearly the end.

at one of our early octavia events, in seattle, poet-goddess christa bell spoke of how ancestors who are remembered live in light and warmth, and those forgotten are left in the dank cold. we hope the fire burns particularly bright for you now.

thank you.