Matter shortlisted for 2009 Prometheus Award

March 26th, 2009 in Awards & Accolades, Global

Iain's latest Culture novel, Matter - currently available in the UK, US and Australia in Orbit paperback - has been shortlisted for the 2009 Prometheus Award.

This award is given by the Libertarian Futurist Society in recognition of the best pro-freedom novel published during the previous year.

The award will be presented during Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, which takes place from August 6-10, 2009, in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

Congratulations to Iain on his nomination!

Iain Banks discusses the Future of Science Fiction with the BBC

March 19th, 2009 in Global, Interviews

Iain has contributed to a BBC website column entitled How Sci-Fi Moves With the Times, along with fellow writers Ken MacLeod, Paul Cornell and Ian Watson.

In the course of describing his general approach to the degree of scientific realism he includes in his different writing modes, Iain also lets slip a tantalising hint about his next novel:

My new book is a mainstream novel that borrows science fiction tropes. It plays with the idea that there are an infinite number of different worlds.

So it's using speculative hard science. And it's important to the book that there's a degree of respectability about the idea of the multiverse, or the many-worlds theory.

You can discuss the implications of this little snippet over on the Iain [M] Banks fan forum, should you be so inclined...

Iain Banks taking part in 'Ursula Le Guin at 80' radio tribute

March 11th, 2009 in Global, TV, Radio & Film

Iain Banks will be contributing to a BBC Radio 4 tribute to veteran science fiction and fantasy author Ursula K. LeGuin, which will be broadcast on Tuesday, March 17th at 11.30 a.m.

Here's the info from the BBC Radio4 website:

Writer China Miéville talks to American science fiction writer Ursula Le Guin.

Le Guin was a trailblazer - writing in the 1960s, her series of books about the adventures of a boy wizard, Ged, included characters of every race and colour. Her fiction has been acutely concerned with politics, portraying worlds destroyed by environmental catastrophe that prefigured modern concerns about global warming, and societies without gender just as modern-day feminism began to take off.

Featuring contributions and tributes from Iain Banks and Margaret Atwood.

[Thanks to The Banksoniain's David H for the heads-up]

Paul Cornell 'State of the Art' audio interview

March 4th, 2009 in Global, Interviews

As part of Sci-Fi London's Reality Check podcast series, Alex Fitch talks to Paul Cornell about his work on the BBC radio adaptation of 'The State of the Art', which airs on Radio 4 tomorrow (Thursday March 5th) at 2.15 p.m. as part of the current BBC R4 Sci-Fi Season.

[via the FPI Blog and Dave H]