Open Road to Publish Uncovered Stories From Award-Winning Fiction Author Octavia E. Butler

Two New Stories Discovered Years after Death of Groundbreaking Author

Walter Mosley to Write Introduction

(New York, NY—April 29, 2014)—Open Road Integrated Media, Octavia E. Butler’s digital publisher, announced today that it will releaseUnexpected Stories, two previously unpublished works by award-winning science fiction writer Octavia E. Butler, author of Parable of the Sower,Kindred, and many other novels. The first African American to come to prominence as a science fiction author, Butler is beloved by fans of all genres, who have connected with her deeply moving stories about race, religion, gender, and society.

Butler’s longtime literary agent, Merrilee Heifetz, discovered the stories with the help of the archivists at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, where Butler’s papers are housed.

Butler, who died in 2006, would have turned sixty-seven this year. In 2010, she was posthumously inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. With the release of Unexpected Stories, her many fans will be able to enjoy new stories from the novelist cherished for her imaginative vision and powerful prose.

“I worked with Octavia for many years and saw firsthand the devotion her readers expressed for her and her work. To be able to publish new stories for those readers is a joyful occasion,” said Betsy Mitchell, Open Road’s strategic advisor for science fiction and fantasy.

Open Road already publishes ten ebooks by the legendary writer, including Parable of the Sower and Wild Seed. Unexpected Stories is available for presale today, with a publication date of June 24, 2014.

This will be the second release of a newly discovered work by an iconic author whose backlist Open Road publishes. In 2013, Open Road publishedThe Eternal Wonder by Pearl S. Buck, which was found in a storage unit in Texas.