A bee approaching the flowers of a willow in Otzberg, Germany on February 28, 2021. Willow catkins are a protected species and one of the first sources of food for insects in early spring. (Photo by Arne Dedert/DPA)

A sparrow feeds its nestlings inside a hole in a building while waiting for food in Lalitpur, Nepal on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Photo by Skanda Gautam/ZUMA Press Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Women walk towards a polling station to cast their ballot during the first phase of voting for the India's general elections in Parbatsar in Rajasthan, on April 19, 2024. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)

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.

Shoppers and commuters in Manchester wearing face masks on February 28, 2020, including plague doctor masks due to the Coronavirus crisis in the UK. (Photo by Mario Forshow/Cavendish Press)

A Rajasthani man displays his moustache during the closing ceremony of annual Camel Fair in Pushkar, in India's desert state of Rajasthan, on November 8, 2022. (Photo by Himanshu Sharma/AFP Photo)

People visit Luke Jerram's “In Memoriam”, a temporary memorial artwork for all those who lost their lives due to COVID-19, in Seaton Carew Park, Hartlepool, Britain on August 20, 2021. (Photo by Lee Smith/Reuters)

The sun rises behind the landmark Anchor on the quay in Appledore, North Devon, United Kingdom on June 7, 2022. The anchor has been decorated with hundreds of colourful crocheted flowers by the residents of the North Devon coastal village. (Photo by Terry Mathews/Alamy Live News)