Science fiction legend and frequent Clarion West Writers Workshop instructor Octavia Butler passed away this weekend. The Seattle Times obituary talks a little bit about her contribution to the field.

Octavia was one of my instructors at Clarion West, and a most remarkable woman. I've encountered her a few times since that workshop, and she has always been kind -- which is not to say that the career advice she has offered me was ever, in any way, sugar-coated. ("Sounds to me like you need to send a letter to [a certain well-known editor] right away!" etc., etc.) She was a good mentor, and a good person to have in your corner. As an author, a trailblazer, and a mentor, she will most definitely be missed.