Devotion: Wild Seed: Octavia Butler
Devotion presents Wild Seed: Octavia Butler, a brand new online writing workshop rooted in the works of legendary Science Fiction writer Octavia Butler. Across five weekly workshops, we will write together using prompts based on Butler’s writing and ideas. Each week will focus on a short story or essay from Butler's collection Bloodchild & Other Stories. We will work with alchemy, power and imagination as transformative tools for writing and for hope.
Topics explored will include:
World building
Futurism
The possibilities and limitations of imagination
Pastiche and parable
The life of a writer
Designing utopias
Working futuristically with reality and the present day
Imagery and magic.
Short extracts from Bloodchild & Other Stories will be shown and read in the workshop itself. You are welcome to read the collection in advance should you wish, but this is neither expected or obligatory.
Live workshops are recorded and available for attendees – if you're unable to make every workshop you are welcome to watch back in your own time (recordings remain available for six months). The materials discussed in the workshops are collated for easy access on Padlet. There is no preparation required for any Devotion workshop. No homework, no obligation to share written work, and no prior experience necessary.
Workshops will take place on Zoom, Thursdays 6pm to 8pm UK time, on the following dates:
1 May 2025
8 May 2025
15 May 2025
22 May 2025
29 May 2025
Workshop syllabus:
Week One: Crossover
Week Two: Speech Sounds & Furor Scribendi
Week Three: Bloodchild
Week Four: The Evening and the Morning and the Night
Week Five: The Book of Martha and Positive Obsession
(All short stories and essays collected in Bloodchild & Other Stories)
Devotion workshop testimonials
‘Despite years of formal education, I never had as meaningful an opportunity to develop my craft. Devotion fosters and nurtures a thoughtful, inclusive space for people to grow in their writing and their practice.’
‘I have attended every Devotion workshop so far & every time has been incredible. The mix of poetry, music, film & art as inspiration makes it so stimulating & like a little party for the heart - because that's what Devotion seems to access, subtle connections to feeling.
‘Devotion has become a must in my life now & I would probably cancel most other things to be there because it does something that nothing else has ever done for me in my writing & has changed me in other more spiritual senses too. The space is nurturing & allows for everybody to be who they need to be on any given day.’
About Devotion
Devotion is a practice-based creative writing workshop for everyone. It nurtures writing practices through communal writing sessions that foster accountability, solidarity and collective learning. Devotion is a writing workshop for everyone. All experience levels, forms and genres welcome 🌹