William Gibson

<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

William Gibson (b. March 17, 1948, Conway, South Carolina) is an American-Canadian author who contributed significantly to the popularization of Cyberpunk. Despite his affinity for anticipating innovations in internet and communications technology, Gibson wasn't born into a world of high tech. His youth was spent largely in as yet largely undeveloped South Carolina and Virginia. His interest in science fiction was sparked by television science fiction programs.

Gibson lost his father early in his life to an accidental choking. Following his father's death, Gibson delved into reading. At fifteen he was sent to private boy's school in Arizona. His mother died before he graduated high school and he quit and joined the Children's Crusade which brought him to Canada, where he managed to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam war.

After marrying, he moved to British Columbia where he earned his bachelor's degree in English at BSC. In 1977, with the pending birth of his first child, Gibson resurrected his childhood interest in science fiction. At the same time he discovered punk and began to write.

Gibson does his writing on an old type writer and only developed an interest in the internet later when it had developed into something much bigger than its early days. By then, in 1984, he'd already coined the term "cyberspace" in his novel Neuromancer which won the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards that year.