The Cross-Cultural Center, Campus Diversity Initiative and Pathways Program are proud to announce this year’s selection for our 7th Annual One Book, One College program, Octavia E. Butler’s Dawn.

Octavia E. Butler is an internationally renowned writer of science fiction and credited with helping create the social, political and cultural Afrofuturism movement. Winner of multiple Hugo and Nebula awards, the MacArthur “Genius” Grant, and numerous other awards, she is one of Pasadena City College’s most distinguished and accomplished alumna. As we mourn her loss after her untimely passing in 2006, we continue to celebrate her life and incredible body of work. We invite all members of the campus and larger community to attend the Speaker Series that has been designed to accompany the shared reading of this provocative text.

Dawn by Octavia Butler

Published in 1987, Octavia E. Butler’s novel is the subject of an upcoming television series with Ava DuVernay, Charles D. King’s Macro and director-writer Victoria Mahoney among others. The first in the Xenogenesis trilogy, Dawn follows the story of Lilith Iyapo, a Black woman who is awakened on an alien vessel after Earth is devastated as a result of its attempt to fight a “winnable nuclear war.” Lilith and other surviving humans must decide if and how to live with the Oankali, an alien race of gene traders that thrive on change and genetic diversity. The future of humanity depends on their actions and behaviors. Lilith is the first human being tasked with leading a group of humans back to Earth to learn how to survive this new reality. 

Copies are available for review in Shatford Library. 

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