Welcome to www.Iain-Banks.net
Welcome to the new-look Iain [M] Banks website. This site contains a wealth of information on the fiction of Iain Banks and the science fiction of Iain M Banks. New content is being added to the site on a regular basis. If there's anything you'd particularly like to see on the site, please contact the site editors and let us know.
Latest Iain [M] Banks Books
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MatterOrbit Books (UK / US)Hardback January 31st 2008 (UK) / February 27th 2008 (US) 978-1841494173 (UK) / 978-0316005364 (US) [paperback release date: February 5th 2009] more info |
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The Steep Approach to GarbadaleAbacus Books (UK)Paperback February 28th 2008 (UK) 978-0349119281 more info |
Latest Iain [M] Banks News
Website maintenance
November 14, 2008Just a quick note to let folks know that we'll be moving the site to a new hosting platform over the next few days. This will involve a domain-name transfer as well, so there may be some down-time as a result. Normal service will be resumed as soon as humanly possible.
[If anyone happens to have the address of a friendly Mind who could make this happen in a nano-second or two, please do let us know via the usual channels.]
Update 17.11.08: Looks like this will be happening some time early next week now, folks. Normal service will continue for a short while yet...
Iain Banks email Q&A October 2008
October 14, 2008Welcome to the latest Q&A session with Iain Banks. The first two sessions can be found here: Q&A session I and Q&A session II.
Read on for the latest Q's from Iain's readers and fans, with A's from the man himself...
Iain Banks talks to Writing Magazine
October 10, 2008Iain has been interviewed for the latest edition of Writer's News Writing Magazine and talks about a number of writing-related subjects, including plotting, character development, pre-planning and avoiding the temptation to polish work until the first draft has been finished.
Interviewer Judith Spelman has posted a (1.23Mb) pdf copy of the piece on her own website at www.judithspelman.co.uk.
[Thanks to DaveH for the heads-up]
Book Aid charity auction to include Banks-signed copy of ‘Fear and Loathing’
October 10, 2008Lewis Proudfoot of Book Aid International has been in touch to tell us about an eBay auction that they're holding to raise money for literacy projects in sub-Saharan Africa. One of the items to be included in the auction ought to be of interest to Banks-collectors, as Lewis explains:
"Visitors to the Iain Banks site may be interested in one of the items: a copy of Hunter S Thompson's Fear and Loathing, illustrated by Ralph Steadman, and signed and inscribed by Iain Banks ('May the spirit of the blessed Saint Hunter be with you')."
This item will be one of those listed on Book Aid International's 'Books Change Lives' eBay for Charity page on Monday October 13th.
A press release about the auction adds: "As well as a fantastic array of signed books, Book Aid International will also be auctioning a number of original illustrations by some of the UK's best-loved illustrators including Nick Sharrat, Satoshi Kitamura and Sue Heap."
State of the Art radio adaptation news
October 7, 2008Via DaveH we've learned that Ian Whates, one of the organisers of this month's Newcon4 convention - at which Iain will be a Guest of Honour - has posted the following news about Paul Cornell's radio adaptation of Ian's short story 'The State of the Art', at the SFF Chronicles forum.
"Paul Cornell's radio adaptation of Iain Banks' novel The State of the Art will be aired on the 6th March 2009 on Radio 4...
"Of course, anyone impatient for a preview would have to come along to NewCon 4. We've obtained permission to play exclusive clips from the show, 6 months ahead of its broadcast; said clips to then be discussed by the author and adaptor ('adaptor' as in Paul, rather than any electronic gizmo!)."
And there's more information on State of the Art's place in the forthcoming BBC Radio science fiction season, over at blogs.thestage.co.uk.
Iain Banks Q&A Session III - call for Q’s
September 16, 2008Email Q&A I and Email Q&A II both went extremely well, and so Iain has asked us to set up a third call for questions from fans, readers and occasional passers-by.
Slightly shorter lead-time this time around, folks: we'd like you to send in your questions to us no later than Friday October 3rd, please - so that gives you just over two weeks to think of something devastatingly interesting to put to Iain.
We do still have a few potential candidates on file from the first two rounds, so please don't feel the need to repeat yourself if you've already submitted a question that hasn't quite made the cut yet. On the other hand, if you'd like to try a new angle, or follow-up on something that was mentioned in the first two Q&A sessions, then that's always worth a try.
Same procedure as before, folks: send your best question (just the one per correspondent, please), by email, to orbit@littlebrown.co.uk, with the subject line 'Iain [M] Banks Q&A Suggestion'.
We're hoping to post the answers sometime during the week commencing October 6th, Iain's schedule allowing, of course...
A few more Banks-esque links
September 12, 2008The Guardian asks Iain a few quick-fire questions about his environmental credentials in their Green Room column.
Independent columnist Matthew Bell makes a brief mention of Iain's recent appearance at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Webzine Dazed & Digital has a brief interview with Iain, also conducted during the EIBF.
Paul Cornell gives a brief progress report on his BBC radio adaptation of 'The State of the Art' during an interview with IO9.com.
Iain Banks at the IBF this weekend
September 5, 2008A quick reminder: Iain will be appearing at the Islay Book Festival this weekend, with a Where Do You Get Your Ideas From? Q&A session taking place on Saturday at 10.30 and a session focusing on Matter on Sunday at 14.00.
See the Islay Book Festival website for more information on Iain's appearances, plus details of the other attendees.
Iain Banks email Q&A August 2008
August 29, 2008Welcome to the second Q&A session with Iain Banks. Iain enjoyed the first Q&A session back in July that he asked us to set up another one pretty much right away.
And so - without any further ado - we present Iain's Email Q&A, episode II:
More reviews, Q&A II on the way…
August 29, 2008We're just putting the finishing touches to the next Iain Banks Q&A session and are hoping to post that later today. But in the meantime, here are a few more recently-posted reviews of two Banks classics:
Hungarian webzine Ekultura has posted Bors Csaba's review of The Player of Games (the link is to an English translation). Bors concludes: "[T]he novel rocks. The plot is thick with thrills and chills, twists and turns, it grasps the reader and just won’t let go. It is an absolute page-turner."
Over at Highlander's Book Reviews, the eponymous Highlander has posted his reaction to A Song of Stone: "[it's] not a 'nice' book ... but it stands out as an example of Banks' ability to cross and mix genres and come up with something compelling, memorable and original."
Writing for the Malaysian Star newspaper, Martin Spice reviews The Steep Approach to Garbadale, saying: "[The Steep Approach to Garbadale] is a somewhat rambling and picaresque novel, but I found it gripping and its main character beguiling."
Quick update - a few Banks-esque links
August 11, 2008First up, we've just added a couple of links to reviews of The Steep Approach to Garbadale to the reviews page.
Dave H sent us a link to a Guardian podcast of the recent discussion panel on The Wasp Factory that was chaired by John Mullan.
On the subject of The Wasp Factory, there's a lengthy analysis-piece over at a blog called The Anatomy Lesson, which probably deserves a few comments.
Readers might also be interested in visiting Jon's Soap Box, where you can read (and discuss) a comparison of the world-building techniques of Iain Banks and William Gibson.
And blogger Cobb ponders The Sybaritic Side of The Culture.
Iain Banks FinancialRadio.co.uk audio interview
August 4, 2008Iain Banks has been interviewed by market news and interviews webzine Financial Radio. It appears that the interview was carried out and posted to the website back in April, but was added to YouTube a couple of weeks ago and subsequently discovered by Gary W, who sent in the link (cheers, Gary!)
Here's the link to the original article: www.financialradio.co.uk.
And here are the three YouTube links:
Embedded audio after the jump, click on 'read more' to access.
Iain [M] Banks Q&A session II - more questions, please!
July 24, 2008Iain enjoyed providing answers for the first email Q&A session so much that he's asked us to set up another one right away.
And so, without further ado, we hereby call for all you Banks-fans and readers to send in your next batch of questions for Iain. The same general guidelines as last time will apply once more:
Send your best question (just one per correspondent, please), by email, to orbit@littlebrown.co.uk, with the subject line 'Iain [M] Banks QandA Suggestion'.
The deadline for submissions for this second session is Wednesday August 13th. After that date, the half-dozen or so queries that - in the collective opinion of the team here at Orbit / Abacus - are the most interesting and / or intriguing will be put to Mr Banks for his consideration and contemplation. The resulting answers will then be posted to to the website as soon as Iain has gotten his answers back to us.
Fire away!
Iain Banks email Q&A July 2008
July 21, 2008A few weeks ago, we invited readers of this website and www.orbitbooks.net to submit questions to be put to Iain Banks by email. Once the three-week submission period was over, the selection panel sifted through the submissions and picked half a dozen; Iain mused, pondered, cogitated and then sent back the following responses:
John Mullan on readers’ responses to ‘The Wasp Factory’
July 21, 2008Over at The Guardian Online John Mullan presents a summary of the recent Wasp Factory discussion panel, which was held in London and featured a live panel discussion with Iain Banks on the subject of the many and varied interpretations of and reactions to his debut novel.
The general conclusion was that the book isn't actually as shocking as its reputation tends to suggest. Iain said that it was written as a black comedy and that Complicity was actually written to be far more shocking, but tends to be written up as being far less so. Iain's suggestion was that the shock response to The Wasp Factory created "anti-bodies" that then defeated the shock value of the later novel.
Plenty more of interest from the session, over at books.guardian.co.uk.
Edit Dave H has pointed us in the direction of a podcast recording of the panel session on the Guardian website. Cheers Dave!
Iain Banks on ‘The Wasp Factory’ in The Guardian
July 14, 2008The Guardian has posted Iain's own take on the background to his breakthrough novel The Wasp Factory over at books.guardian.co.uk.
In the article we learn that The Wasp Factory was Iain's sixth completed novel, and that at the time he regarded it as something of a step-backwards from his dream of becoming a published science fiction writer:
"The Wasp Factory represented me admitting partial defeat, heaving a slightly theatrical sigh, stepping reluctantly away from the gaudy, wall-size canvasses of science/space fiction to lay down my oversize set of Rolf Harris paint rollers, pick up a set of brushes thinner than pencils and - jaw set, brows furrowed - lower myself to using a more restricted palette and to producing what felt like a miniature in comparison."
There's plenty more insight into the origins of the book to be gained by reading the rest of the Guardian article.
Reminder: Iain Banks appearing at 2008 Latitude Festival
July 14, 2008Just a quick reminder that Iain Banks will be appearing at this coming weekend's Latitude Festival.
The Literary Arena page has been updated recently and lists Iain as appearing on Saturday, possibly round about lunch-time (ish). So if you're already heading on down to the festival this weekend (Saturday day passes are sold out, so it's probably best not to turn up on spec) and want to see our Mr Banks do his thing (whatever that thing turns out to be) then it looks like Saturday is the day to hang around the Literary Arena. Presumably they'll give you an actual timetable of events when you get there on the day, so you'll know roughly what time to turn up. So that should be okay...
Iain Banks on Radio 4 next week
July 10, 2008Via Dave H of The Banksoniain fanzine, we hear that Iain is listed as a contributor to the programme 'The Disappearing Art of the Mix Tape', which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 11:30 next Thursday, July 17th.
The blurb says: "Broadcaster and journalist David Quantick celebrates the home-produced compilation cassette, a disappearing art form in an age when music can be readily downloaded. Contributors include novelist Iain Banks and poet Simon Armitage."
More information from www.bbc.co.uk.
One from the Archives: Iain [M] Banks’ Write Place
July 7, 2008Originally posted to YouTube (and presumably broadcast) back in March 2008, in this clip from Sky Arts' 'The Book Show', Iain Banks introduces us to his inner sanctum: the eclectic study wherein all that writerly magic takes place...
[Many thanks to Gary W for the heads-up]
Iain Banks’ ‘The Wasp Factory’ to feature in The Guardian
June 26, 2008Over the next four weekends, starting on June 28, John Mullan - professor of English at University College London - will be discussing Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory for the Guardian Book Club. Iain will also write a response piece, which will be published on July 12. We'll bring you links to any online content as we discover it, of course.
Banks-fans and other interested readers can also join the professor and the author for a discussion of the novel on Thursday July 10 at the Newsroom, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1. Doors open at 6.30 p.m. and entry costs £8. To book a ticket, email book.club@guardian.co.uk or phone 020 7886 9281.
[Thanks to Dave H of 'The Banksoniain' for the heads-up]
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