KUOW Book Club's September read: Octavia Butler's final vampire novel

You voted and we listened: KUOW's book club will read "Fledgling" by Octavia Butler this month.

(Thank you to everyone who voted in the summer survey to help me pick this month's read — y'all have great taste. Next month, we'll start voting on what to read in December. I want to involve the club in these decisions, but I also have some great picks and author interviews lined up in the meantime.)

"Fledgling" was the last novel Butler wrote before she died in 2006 at her Lake Forest Park home, where she had lived since 1999. "Fledgling" is the story of a young Black girl who makes a stunning discovery about herself: She's actually a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire.

Now, I imagine you vampire novel skeptics just pictured the shimmering, melodramatic vampires of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, which still attracts floods of fans to Forks, Washington. Butler's style of vampire novel may not bring droves of women in "Team Shori" (Shori is the main character of "Fledgling") T-shirts to Washington, but it is in a league far above the likes of "Twilight" and the rest of the mainstream (ahem, white) vampire genre.

Butler's novel explores otherness, racism (through the lens of speciesism as her vampires are another species entirely), power, and, yes, sexuality. So, if you're skeptical about whether a vampire novel will be your thing, this is worth your time. Trust me — or rather, trust the mother of Afrofuturism, Butler herself.

Here's the reading schedule:

• Read first 14 chapters by September 23.
• Finish the book by September 30.

I’ll send out a newsletter with my analysis on each of the above dates.

I wish I could go back in time to interview Butler, but since that's not possible in this reality, I’m pleased to share that I'll be speaking with her longtime friend and fellow award-winning author Nisi Shawl. Look out for more details in the first check-in.

Subscribe to the book club newsletter here, and join the conversation by emailing me directly at kcampbell@kuow.org.

Before you go: I have a very exciting announcement about our October read (that's right, I'm revealing it early to those of you who read this far)! We'll be reading Timothy Egan's Pacific Northwest classic "The Good Rain" next month. And we'll be doing a live event at KUOW with Egan. Register here to join the live conversation on October 24. See you there!