K.R. Parker, Ph.D. (she/her)

Image says Celebrating 10 Years of Biographical Inquiry with a picture of Gerry Canvan’s book, titled Octavia E. Butler, the words "So Be It!, See To It," and 2026 at the bottom.

Celebrating 10 Years of Biographical Inquiry!

In 2016, Gerry Canavan’s biography simply titled Octavia E. Butler was published.
The book ushered in a new era in Butler Studies!

#OctaviaButler #BlackHistoryMonth #biography #blackwriters #blacksciencefiction #wellreadblackgirl

YouTube video by Captioning for Everyone 1988, July 19 - Rev. Jesse Jackson - Democratic National Convention Address - open captioned

"Your patch is not big enough!"

As people remember Rev. Jesse Jackson, his 1988 DNC Speech is worth some sustained attention.

Savannah teacher killed in crash by man fleeing from ICE According to the Chatham County Police Department, Monday morning’s fatal crash was the result of a chase between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a suspect.

ICE killed a teacher in Georgia today when they chose to chase a man who posed no danger and had no criminal history.

Image says Celebrating 40 Years of Butler scholarship with a picture of the first page of the article, the words "So Be It!, See To It," and 2026 at the bottom.

Celebrating 40+ Years of Butler scholarship!

In 1986, Sandra Y. Govan’s article, “Octavia Butler Renovates the Historical Novel, was published in MELUS Journal.

The article discusses Kindred (1979) and Wild Seed (1980).

#OctaviaButler #BlackHistoryMonth #Kindred #WildSeed #blackwriters

Survivor Back in Print? Butler's third novel, out of print for almost 50 years, seems to be coming back into print later this year

After a BlueSky user reached out to us, we did some digging. It looks like Octavia E. Butler’s Survivor (1978) will be back in print in September of this year.

Learn More: oebsociety.substack.com/p/survivor-b...

#octaviabutler #survivor

Looks like it: libro.fm/audiobooks/9...

Promotional poster with a white background and navy-blue accents for an online literary event titled “So Be It! See To It! A Conversation with Octavia E. Butler’s Biographers.” Three portrait photos appear across the center. From left to right: Gerry Canavan, a bearded man wearing glasses, a black shirt, and a pink tie, identified as the author of Octavia E. Butler (2016); Kendra R. Parker, a woman with short salt & pepper hair wearing a teal dress, identified as the author of Understanding Octavia E. Butler (2025); and Chi-ming Yang, a smiling woman with glasses and dark hair, identified as the author of Octavia E. Butler: H Is for Horse (2025). Event details near the bottom read “7:30 to 8:30 PM Eastern Time, February 24, 2026.” A QR code appears in the lower right corner with text indicating it is for registration. The poster notes that the event is organized by the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society and supported by the Department of English at Georgia Southern University, with both organizations’ logos shown at the bottom.

The Octavia E. Butler Literary Society, with the support of the Department of English at Georgia Southern, is hosting "So Be It! See To It! A Conversation with Butler's Biographers."

Free. Register for the Zoom link: georgiasouthern.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

#OctaviaButler #BlackHistoryMonth

Image says Celebrating 50 Years of Patternmaster, with a picture of the novel, the words "So Be It!, See To It," and 2026 at the bottom.

So Be It! See To It!

Celebrating 50 Years of Patternmaster.

In 1976, Octavia E. Butler's first novel, Patternmaster, was published.

#OctaviaButler #BlackHistoryMonth #Patternmaster #blackwriters #blacksciencefiction #wellreadblackgirl

I am not being snarky. I need my colleagues who wrote on covid school lockdowns to engage with this. To be as loud as they have been about prior "learning loss." Hell, you can cite Tom & Mark's AERJ paper so you feel better that there's some econ somewhere in your argument.

A Black man was killed by ICE (off duty) in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. And like Renée Good, he was an American citizen. But most people have not heard about Keith Porter.

I need y’all to realize this. Black people experience this lack of visibility all the time when it comes to being victims.

Thank you!

Kendra R. Parker - Savannah Book Festival Dr. Kendra R. Parker is a scholar and educator with a passion for teaching and researching African American literature broadly, with specific interests in Black vampires, Black horror, literary Afrofu...

Recently found out that I’ll be a featured author at the 2026 Savannah Book Festival alongside folks like Stacy Abrams, John Jennings, Damian Duffy, Jeneva Rose, & more! 🎉#octaviabutler

www.savannahbookfestival.org/festival-sat...

General info: www.savannahbookfestival.org/festival-sat...

Call for Papers: OEB Literary Society at ALA 2026 Octavia E.

Want to present at the American Literature Association Conference on a panel sponsored by the OEB Literary Society? Submit your abstract by January 26, 2026, for consideration.

All details can be found here:

Corporation For Public Broadcasting Is Dissolved After 58 Years Of Service

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations

Dr. Janell Green Smith, a midwife who advocated for Black maternal health, dies of childbirth complications Dr. Janell Green Smith, a South Carolina midwife and advocate for Black maternal health, has died due to complications during childbirth.

thegrio.com/2026/01/04/d...

OEBLS 2025 Recap A Year in Review for the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society

Thank you for rocking with the OEBLS this year!

Counting down to 2026! Check out our 2025 recap:

open.substack.com/pub/oebsocie...

#OctaviaButler #GodIsChange #PositiveObsession #wildseed #parableofthesower

My gritty little Xmas story about a star, an ex con and the true spirit of the holiday
And blood. Lots of blood

reckonreview.com/star-of-wond...

Bug, Charon, & Calvin! The SA Cosby universe! 🔥

I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

Oooooh

TSA Imposes $45 Fee for Travelers Without REAL ID Starting February 2026 (Gift Article) As of February, passengers without the government-approved identity card will be required to pay for alternative screening at U.S. airports.

This should be a scandal.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/01/t...

Graphic that reads: "The average hourly wage necessary to afford a one-bedroom apartment in the United States is $28.17. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25." -- National Low Income Housing Coalition

I really appreciate that @pbsnews.org ended the interview with this graphic.

It captures, in the simplest and starkest terms, the brutal arithmetic driving this country's homelessness catastrophe.

We do. But no one is listening.

Image title says "The Category is Thankful" and includes 4 books published on or about Octavia E. Butler. The books are the graphic novel adaptation of Parable of the Talents by Damian Duffy, John Jennings, and David Brame (top left), Understanding Octavia E. Butler by Kendra R. Parker (top right); Octavia E. Butler: H is for Horse by Chi-Ming Yang (bottom left); Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris (bottom right)

We're thankful for everyone keeping Butler's spirit alive.
Check out these 4 works, published this year, that are helping to do just that.

#OctaviaButler #GodIsChange #BlackSciFi #blackwriters #blackwomenwriters #Earthseed

I once taught a whole lesson on the narratives of deservedness in the very strange concept of “stealing” books from something conspicuously branded as a “free” little library. The students struggled with it. A lot of internalized beliefs about poverty and worth. But I think it was a good lesson.

For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.

One, I had not heard this specific example but it’s aligned with the whole history of tech. Not surprised. Just grossed out.

Two, this should be illegal. We should all care that it isn’t.

A photo of Texas A&M University’s logo

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M adopts policy requiring professors to get OK from school president to discuss certain race and gender issues.

Trump's war on the hungry continues with Supreme Court win The pause allows, for now, the president to keep using hungry Americans as a political weapon.

Trump, who rushed to the Supreme Court on Friday, is hellbent in his refusal to bring much-needed aid to the country's neediest.