Science Fiction Writer Dies at 58: “Octavia E. Butler, an internationally acclaimed science fiction writer whose evocative, often troubling, novels explore far-reaching issues of race, sex, power and, ultimately, what it means to be human, died on Friday after a fall near her home in Lake Forest Park, Wash. She was 58. The precise cause of death has not been determined, Ms. Butler’s literary agent, Merrilee Heifetz, said on Monday. She added that Ms. Butler had suffered from severe hypertension and other health problems in recent years. In 1995 Ms. Butler was awarded a MacArthur fellowship, the first science fiction writer to be so honored. She received two Hugo Awards from the World Science Fiction Society and two Nebula Awards from the Science Fiction Writers of America.” (New York Times )