Biography

March 17, 1948 · Conway, South Carolina, USA

William Ford Gibson

6′ 6″ (1.98 m)

Coined the phrase "cyberspace" in his novel "Neuromancer".

His novel Neuromancer (1984) and its sequels Count Zero (1986) and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988) are generally considered the definitive works of the "cyberpunk" science-fiction subgenre.

His novel "Neuromancer" earned him a Nebula Award, a Hugo Award and the Philip K. Dick award - the 'Holy Trinity' of science-fiction writing

Emigrated from the US to Canada in 1968, after being rejected for the draft. Lived in Toronto at first, but since 1972 in Vancouver.

Maybe I'm a romantic, but I think in the old days it was done by guys who couldn't do anything else, guys like Phil Dick. That's all he could do, sit there and write endless novels. These are the people Bruce Sterling calls "Paranoid Pervert Saints of Science Fiction." They were pariahs of literature, whipping these strange ideas around. When I was a teenager growing up in southwestern Virginia in the 1960s, SF was absolutely the only source of subversives ideas that I had. I used to read these books and think, "Wow! No one knows I'm reading this!" It was below people's attention. Well, that subversive level of science fiction has fallen off terribly. The bulk of this stuff is consumer product, dog food, and there's so much of it. When I walk into an SF bookstore, my head swims. I remember when I could buy every new SF paperback published in America every month, because there were two.

[on Neil Gaiman] A writer of rare perception and endless imagination.

Before diagnosing yourself with depression or low self esteem, make sure that you are not in fact surrounded by assholes.