American singer and rapper Ashton Nicole Casey, known professionally as Ashnikko performs on Day 2 of Leeds Festival 2021 at Bramham Park on August 28, 2021 in Leeds, England. (Photo by Matthew Baker/Getty Images)

Young Turkana tribeswomen sing in a village near Baragoy, Kenya August 6, 2017. Kenyans are due to go to the polls on Aug. 8. to vote in presidential elections after a tightly-fought race between President Uhuru Kenyatta and main opposition leader Raila Odinga. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

A diesel locomotive has ended up in the river Venoge on March 8, 2013 near Penthalaz, Western Switzerland. The freight locomotive derailed near Cossonez railway station with its driver slightly injured. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP Photo)

Young women prepare for Notting Hill Carnival on August 27, 2017 in London, England. The Notting Hill Carnival began with a special ceremony of remembrance following the Grenfell fire tragedy. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

A novice Bhutanese monk sleeps after hours of prayer waiting for class to be over at the Dechen Phodrang monastery October 18, 2011 in Thimphu, Bhutan. The monks average about 10 hours of study a day waking up at 5:00am. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Lindsay Heimbach goes airborne while sledding down a hill on Mt. Lemmon December 27, 2008. (Photo by James Gregg/Arizona Daily Star)

William Gibson is not one of the authors that spits out novels like a machine – in his long and fruitful career he has only published 11 novels andof short stories and articles in the tens each. Still his impact on modern literature was huge – the “noir prophet” of the cyberpunk subgenre (that he was one of the pioneers of) has predicted the rise of reality television, virtual reality, video games and the internet. He is a Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction writer, with a special eye for what the future might bring.