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 sculpture is pictured at “Dismaland”, a theme park-styled art installation by British artist Banksy, at Weston-Super-Mare in southwest England, Britain, August 20, 2015. The show is Bansky's first in the UK since the Banksy v Bristol Museum show in 2009 and will be open for 5 weeks at the Topicana site. (Photo by Toby Melville/Reuters)

A wounded Syrian girl looks on at a make shift hospital in the rebel-held area of Douma, east of the capital Damascus, following shelling and air raids by Syrian government forces on August 22, 2015. At least 20 civilians and wounded or trapped 200 in Douma, a monitoring group said, just six days after regime air strikes killed more than 100 people and sparked international condemnation of one of the bloodiest government attacks in Syria's war. (Photo by Abd Doumany/AFP Photo)

The Patrouille Suisse jets perform prior to the Men's Downhill race at the Fis Alpine Skiing World Cup in Wengen, Switzerland, 15 January 2022. (Photo by Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA/EFE)

Giant pandas play in the snow at the Shenshuping Base of China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda on January 13, 2022 in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province of China. (Photo by Chen Xianlin/VCG via Getty Images)

A woman releases birds as people celebrate the start of the Lunar New Year in Surabaya on February 1, 2022, which ushers in the Year of the Tiger. (Photo by Juni Kriswanto/AFP Photo)

China's Zheng Si Wei, right, and Huang ya Qiong play against Thailand's R. Makkasasithorn and J. Sudjaipraparat during their mixed doubles match at the Badminton Asia Championships 2022 at Muntinlupa, Philippines on Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

Primary school students attend an emergency evacuation drill on China's national day for disaster prevention and relief on May 12, 2022 in Hefei, Anhui Province of China. China's national day for disaster prevention and relief falls on May 12 every year. (Photo by Ge Qingzhao/VCG via Getty Images)