Noted writer Octavia Butler died this week at the age of 58. Though celebrated for her work as a science fiction author, Butler did not especially like the term 'science fiction,' saying that the genre was "just fiction that uses science well."

"All science fiction is essentially about people, no matter what else it's doing," she told Ira Flatow in 2004. "It's something that we kind of forget about when we read hard science fiction sometimes, but if the people weren't in there and if they weren't interesting, I don't think we'd be reading the book."

Butler was author of over a dozen books including "Kindred," "Lilith's Brood," and the "Parable of the Sower." Her most recent novel, "Fledgling," was released in 2005. Her work earned her many awards, including two Nebula awards, two Hugo Awards, a PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award and a MacArthur Foundation fellowship.  Her writing often drew on her personal experiences as a woman and an African-American, exploring issues of race and class. Her roots in science fiction were less weighty, however -- Butler said that she was inspired to start writing science fiction by a 1955 movie called "Devil Girl From Mars."

Butler appeared on Science Friday in June of 2004, speaking in a panel discussion at the opening of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle. (listen in RealAudio format | listen in Windows Media format | mp3 download )

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June 18, 2004, Hour One: Seattle Remote: Science and Science Fiction
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