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.

An aerial view shows boats sailing in the marshes of Chibayish in Iraq's southern Dhi Qar province on February 8, 2025. (Photo by Asaad Niazi/AFP Photo)

Photographer Han Youngsoo captured the ordinary people of Korea as the country emerged from war into an age of prosperity. Han Youngsoo: Photographs of Seoul 1956–63 is at the International Center of Photography (ICP), Jersey City, New Jersey, until June 9, 2017. Here: Seoul, Korea. (Photo by Han Youngsoo/The Guardian)

In his series of untitled photographs Nobody Claps Anymore, the Mexican-American photographer Alec Dawson portrays ordinary people in their homes in a downbeat, ultra-stylised manner. Staring into space as they watch TV or water the garden, the real-life subjects of photographer hint at vast reserves of boredom and regret. (Photo by Alec Dawson)

A tourist struggles in the water, before standing up and wading away, after a wave strengthened by the influence of Typhoon Dujuan hit a river bank in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province September 29, 2015. (Photo by Reuters/China Daily)

Big waves approach the beach of Nazare, Portugal, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. The high waves were caused by strong winds at one of the world's most popular surf spots. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Waves batter the North Devon coast at Ilfracombe, UK on August 23, 2024, as Storm Lilian hits the UK and the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning. (Photo by Mark Passmore Photography)

A man selling bags of water is seen at a taxi parking bay lined with campaign posters in the district of Lingwala in Kinshasa on December 18, 2018. Democratic Republic of Congo goes to the polls on December 23, 2018 in elections which could see the country emerge from 17 years of conflict-ridden rule under controversial President Joseph Kabila. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)