June 16-20: William Gibson

[Maria_H]

Let's welcome William to Center Stage!

Do you have a question for the author? Reply to this message to start the conversation.

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About William Gibson:

William Gibson was born on March 17, 1948, in Conway, South Carolina, the only son of a civilian contractor who worked at the Oak Ridge facility, where the first atomic bomb was made. ("Paranoiac legends of 'security' at Oak Ridge were part of our family culture," says Gibson.) After a childhood spent in the mountains of Virginia, and a stint at boarding school in Arizona, he moved to Canada at age 19. He wrote his first fiction while attending the University of British Columbia, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English Literature. Since 1972, he has lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. He is married and has two children.

In 1984, Gibson became the first author to win the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award, and the Philip K. Dick Memorial Award in a single year for his debut novel Neuromancer. He is credited with having coined the term "cyberspace," and for having envisioned both the Internet (complete with viruses and hackers) and virtual reality before either existed. In subsequent novels - Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, Idoru and the bestsellers Virtual Light and Pattern Recognition - he foresaw ongoing advances in nanotechnology, information control, identity theft, and the culture of online chat rooms.

Gibson has also written a collaborative novel, The Difference Engine, with Bruce Sterling. His short stories are collected in Burning Chrome.

Spook Country, like Pattern Recognition before it, takes place in our own day and time, in a world with which we are all too familiar.

[Maria_H]

As part of Barnes & Noble's Upstairs at the Square series, William Gibson will be at our Union Square store on Monday, June 16, 2008 at 7:00 PM with Martha Wainwright.

They will discuss and perform their work in conversation with journalist Katherine Lanpher, who hosts the program. Admission is free, and no tickets are required. Seating is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Hope to see you there!

[Stephanie]

Hi William,

Welcome! I'm Stephanie, the moderator for Center Stage.  It's a privilege to "meet" you here.  I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on your work.

Question: When you coined the term "cyberspace" back in 1982, did you ever envision what we've now come to know as cyberspace?  

[mr_moncrief]

Mr. Gibson,

I had the great pleasure of witnessing the Austin, TX signing and discussion. You were extremely patient with the "microphone situation" and kept everyone laughing. Thanks.

Here's a list of questions I didn't have a chance to ask. Answer if you like.

1. You seem to welcome change. Has this been something that has always come easy or is it something you must constantly work at? Ever think you'll use the phrase, "Back in my day.."?

2. The Curfew - was it inspired by the likes of The Clash or The Cure?

3. Some "televangelists" are under suspicion of money laundering. Any coincidence that this would also be the group accepting money in your book?

4. Would you consider yourself an optimist, pessimist, or realist?

5. What do you think about the Node Magazine website that was published from one of your early release copies? Plagiarism?

6. Ever consider co-writing again or other mediums?

7. What are your thoughts on technology as it applies to education? I work at a new school where every room has a digital projector and most have interactive Smartboards. The students respond using wireless radio-frequency remotes. Grades are posted online, digital copies of assignments, secure blogging, etc. Are children really the future?


William Gibson fan for life,

Dakota Moncrief

[UberDog]

Technology and education makes me think of tech and books which makes me wonder what Mr. Gibson thinks about the future of publishing under the aegis of the affordable E-Book or "electronic paper."

It seems to me that either being mass adopted by readers will have profound effects on the industry. the industry, conversely, seems to be playing the same "ostrich in the sand" game as both the music and film industry have done before them.

What is the role of publisher in a world with a 5 dollar e-book reader? What is the role of agent?

[William_Gibson]

History (i.e. the real future, when it becomes the present) is always infinitely more complex than any piece of fiction.

[William_Gibson]

1. You seem to welcome change. Has this been something that has always come easy or is it something you must constantly work at? Ever think you'll use the phrase, "Back in my day.."?

Everything changes anyway, so welcoming change is simply a lot more comfortable.

2. The Curfew - was it inspired by the likes of The Clash or The Cure?

I never had any very clear idea of what their music was like. They probably had a few releases on the Factory label.

3. Some "televangelists" are under suspicion of money laundering. Any coincidence that this would also be the group accepting money in your book?

Just a lucky guess. ;-)

4. Would you consider yourself an optimist, pessimist, or realist?

Realist, on a good day.

5. What do you think about the Node Magazine website that was published from one of your early release copies? Plagiarism?

Free advertising. And very well done. Even outright piracy (which this isn't) is simply a kind of tax on fame (*and* free advertising).

6. Ever consider co-writing again or other mediums?

I'd like to have my own line of vinyl figures, and see them in Giant Robot and Juxtapose.

7. What are your thoughts on technology as it applies to education? I work at a new school where every room has a digital projector and most have interactive Smartboards. The students respond using wireless radio-frequency remotes. Grades are posted online, digital copies of assignments, secure blogging, etc. Are children really the future?

Children will really *live* in the future, that's for sure.

[William_Gibson]

An affordable eBook that people actually enjoy using will be publishing's equivalent of cassette tape and MP-3s, all at once. End of a very ancient monopoly on the means of production, but not as abrupt, maybe, as the end of that monopoly in recorded music.

Ever think about the carbon footprint of print media? Books and magazines, as we remember each time we move, are very heavy.

[Stephanie]

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William_Gibson wrote:
An affordable eBook that people actually enjoy using will be publishing's equivalent of cassette tape and MP-3s, all at once. End of a very ancient monopoly on the means of production, but not as abrupt, maybe, as the end of that monopoly in recorded music.

Ever think about the carbon footprint of print media? Books and magazines, as we remember each time we move, are very heavy.

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William,

I was thinking of this, and thinking of the amount of space my books take up in my home- picturing the paperless futuristic house- clean, uncluttered... sounds like a dream.   And then, I think of lying in the chaise on the beach or by the pool with a terrific book in hand, and I cannot imagine trying to fuss with battery power while spending a whole afternoon reading.  Perhaps solar power will keep me reading electronically. 

[UberDog]

I think e-paper, some gross refinement of OLED will solve some of those issues. You'll get the local paper on the same sheet of "paper" as you read Bill's next novel.

In fact, you can likely toggle between the review of the book and the book itself while simultaneously checking out Mimetic Engineer's (the Node guy) hypertext armature of said book.

It does open up a new way in which the novel is read.

[William_Gibson]

I think of my friend John Clute's living room in Camden Town, which when I first saw it was lined in part with albums on vinyl (the term "album", used this way, itself refers to an extinct and generally forgotten platform, the multi-disc 78RPM sets sold in book-like packaging). Eventually, John succeeded in methodically replacing each album with the CD of the same music, funding this operation with the sale of vinyl, and freeing up considerable wall (and room!) space. But with the advent of the MP3, the smaller shelves of CDs were soon replaced by a single VERY small shelf, on which he keeps his iPod. The difference between the space taken up, plus the weight, of the vinyl, and the iPod, in a North London flat, amounts to having a whole extra ROOM!

[William_Gibson]

Yep. ePaper. Everyone will own *one* very nice book, eventually, with absolute look-and-feel bookiness. But it will be whatever book you desire it to be, when you open it.

[mr_moncrief]

Hooray! California will not spray the Apple Moth! Some of my friends (and family) have been fighting this on the "front lines" and I am proud to help celebrate their victory, but I digress...

The "Paperless Office" has been around since the 1970's but never fully realized. Give it a few more lifetimes. Ironically, a modern day printshop will use very little "in-house" paper. All paper use comes from product production; but I digress even further.

In my "school of the future" some (very very few) families have requested that their students not be placed in heavily "electronized" rooms citing that the projected light/screens/speakers give them migraine headaches, higher risk of cancer, etc. It makes me wonder how far away we are from semi-religious requests. Will there be monk-like lo-tech sects devoted to preserving written script? I can tell you from personal experience that hand writing (cursive in particular) is not given much attention anymore.

Finally, McDonalds advertisement researches are evil geniuses and have pinned their target-audience with laser like precision. Line Rider is a popular online flash game played by millions of teenagers across the country every day. McD's latest commercial comes straight from this online game and appeals to students just coming home from school. People wonder why we have such an overweight society, jeesh. Sinister. Genius.

Sorry for the off-topic post. Was there a question in there somewhere?







Don't know why that's showing down there. Go away. Shew!

Message Edited by mr_moncrief on 06-19-2008 10:31 PM

[remotepush]

as britain shifts the goal posts on keeping suspects in detention without charge, and sweden introduces greater electronic survielance laws, and this kind of restriction on freedom becomes the norm, how do you see the next few years in spook terms? is this going to be an influence/contributing current to your new work, or did you work that out of your system with spook country?

[William_Gibson]

The new transparency ulimately works both way. Digital tech makes it easier for governments to keep track of individuals, but harder for governments to keep a secret. It's all much more porous than the analog version. Watch the Bush administration's remaining dirty laundry emerge, over the next decade; it'll happen faster than we expect, due to that porosity.

[William_Gibson]

I'm going to Seattle today to get ready for my induction into the SF Hall of Fame, but I'll check in later to see if there are any questions.

Thanks to everyone for turning up!

[fashionpolice]

Congratulations on your induction in the SF Hall of Fame!

Thank you for all of your great books as well as for your blog on your own website - www.williamgibsonbooks.com !

It was a pleasure meeting you at your events in London and Paris.

All best!

F.P.

[William_Gibson]

First day of the big ol' induction weekend, this one in support of the Clarion West sf-writing workshop.

Last day of my Center Stage appearance, so thanks and best wishes to everyone!