An Idea Whose Time Has Come (We Hope)

Longtime readers may remember our wildly successful Bowietry issue themed in honor of the late David Bowie. Fewer of you may remember our Octavia E. Butler-themed issue because it failed to materialize.

We received some fantastic submissions—one of which ("Bloodchild" by Angele Ellis) went on to win third place in Poetry Super Highway's 2018 Poetry Contest. Just not enough submissions to fill out an issue. When I ran into Angele at a reading last month, we got to talking about Octavia E. Butler as we usually do. Angele was looking forward to reading the recently released biography of Butler, Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler. She commented that nowadays lots more people know about Butler. "Maybe the Butler issue was just ahead of its time," we mused.

Let's find out. Starting now and through all of 2026, Uppagus will be open to Butler-themed poems, flash fiction, artwork, and essays. A year-and-change should give people enough time to get the word, get familiar with this author if they aren't already, and get inspired. If we receive enough submissions this time, there will be one hellivan Octavia E. Butler tribute in 2027.

Housekeeping note: Please put "Octavia E. Butler" in your subject line to make it clear that you want your submission to be considered for this issue.

When you throw many ideas at the wall, you get accustomed to the fact that not all of them stick. But we really hope this one does. So please clap for Tinkerbell—and, more importantly, read some Octavia E. Butler! We're excited to see what you come up with.