SOURCE: Gibson, William, and Robert K. J. Killheffer. “William Gibson.” Publishers Weekly 240, no. 36 (6 September 1993): 70-1.

In the following interview, Killheffer provides an overview of Gibson's life and career, focusing on the publication of Virtual Light.

The weary resignation that William Gibson sometimes feels in his role as information-age guru and novelist may have been reflected in his recent cameo on television's Wild Palms miniseries. Introduced therein as “the man who invented the term ‘cyberspace,’” Gibson now quips: “And they'll never let me forget it.”

There are good reasons for his renown. Gibson's first novel, Neuromancer (1984), commissioned by the late Terry Carr for his Ace Specials line, electrified the science fiction field. He also laid the groundwork for his vision of a cybernetic future in a series of short stories published in Omni magazine. Gibson helped to inspire the creation of the label “cyberpunk” to describe an evolving genre...