Panel: A Teenage Superhero: Celebrating Octavia E. Butler’s Lauren Oya Olamina

This is a hybrid event. Registration is required for Zoom attendance at this link. Registration for in-person attendance is not required but is recommended using the blue Register button above; seats available first come, first served.

Fifteen-year-old moderator Aida Ndiaye—the same age as Octavia E. Butler’s heroine Lauren Oya Olamina at the start of Parable of the Sower—leads a discussion honoring Butler’s iconic teen protagonist. She is joined by authors Kendra R. Parker (Understanding Octavia E. Butler) and Susana M. Morris (Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler), both appearing virtually, along with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, author of (The Mermaid, The Witch and The Sea). Together, they celebrate Lauren Oya Olamina’s strength and transformative journey, emphasizing how this teenaged literary superhero embodies the spirit of Butler’s work and the power of young voices to inspire change. Let’s gather in celebration of youth power, storytelling and the futures we are capable of creating—together. RSVP recommended.

Aida Ndiaye is the author of The Imagination Book and Evil Burrito and the FBI. Aida likes to write novels, and often doesn't plan to write them—it just happens. One of her life goals is to try as many different kinds of donuts as possible. She dreams that one day, she will finally invent something new to the world. 

Dr. Kendra R. Parker is an Associate Professor at Georgia Southern University, President of the Octavia E. Butler Literary Society, and author of Understanding Octavia E. Butler. 

Dr. Susana M. Morris is an Associate Professor at Georgia Tech, co-founder of The Crunk Feminist Collective, and author of the forthcoming biography Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler. 

Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the acclaimed author of The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea and The Siren, the Song, and the Spy, celebrating diverse and imaginative young protagonists.