Protesters throw fireworks at riot police during clashes in Nanterre, near Paris, France, 29 June 2023. Violence broke out after police fatally shot a 17-year-old during a traffic stop in Nanterre on 27 June 2023. According to the French interior minister, 31 people were arrested with 2,000 officers being deployed to prevent further violence. (Photo by Yoan Valat/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

A competitor takes part in the World Bog Snorkelling Championships held at the Waen Rhydd peat bog, Llanwrtyd Wells, Mid Wales, on August 27, 2023. The race is held along a 55-metre bog trench, in which the contestants must complete two lengths. Conventional swimming strokes are not allowed, though snorkels and flippers are mandatory. (Photo by Geoff Caddick/AFP Photo)

This handout photo taken on September 26, 2025 and released on September 27 by the Philippine Coast Guard shows coast guard personnel (background) evacuating a person at the height of Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi in San Agustin town, Romblon province. The Philippines evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and confirmed at least three deaths on Friday as it faced yet another tropical storm, days after it was battered by deadly Super Typhoon Ragasa. (Photo by Handout/Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)/AFP Photo)

Participants compete to do nothing during the Space-out competition at World Expo 2025 on September 27, 2025 in Osaka, Japan. For 90 minutes, participants sat in silence, trying to remain in a dazed state without distraction. The winner was determined not by activity but by calmness maintaining the most stable heart rate amid the lively crowds of the Osaka Expo site. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

A general view of atmosphere during 2016 New York Comic Con – Day 1 on October 6, 2016 in New York City. The annual event offers pop culture fans exhibitors and displays of popular video games, movies and comic books and many people attending dress as their favorite character. (Photo by Daniel Zuchnik/Getty Images)

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.

A death mask thought to be that of English dramatist William Shakespeare (1566–1616). Found by Dr. Ludwig Becker in Mainz in 1849, the mask was linked to Shakespeare because of its 1616 date and its supposed facial resemblance to the writer. A rival theory, however, maintains that the mask is more likely to be that of English poet Ben Johnson. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images). Circa 1900