< Appendix: a Cyberpunk Time Line
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½¾ Appendix: A Cyberpunk Time Line Year Milestone in the History of Cyberpunk 1979 — Louis Shiner moves to Austin (Texas) and joins “Turkey City Neo-Pro Rodeo and Writer’s Workshop,” where he meets Bruce Sterling. 1981 — Sterling introduces William Gibson’s manuscript for “Burning Chrome” at the writer’s workshop in Austin. — Gardner Dozois writes about “punk SF” in the introduction to the Best of the Year collection, which he also edits. — Gibson’s “Johnny Mnemonic” is published in Omni (May). — Gibson sends Terry Carr at Ace Books an outline of a novel to be called Jacked In (October). 1982 — Gibson sends Carr an expanded outline for his novel, now to be called Neuromancer (January). — Gibson appears at Armadillo Con (October) together with Sterling and Shiner. He reads the opening chapters of his work-in-progress, Neuromancer. A discussion panel is held with the title “Behind the Mirrorshades: A Look at Punk SF.” — Blade Runner (dir. Ridley Scott), based on Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968), is released. Gibson reports leaving the movie theater while watching it, because the atmosphere and setting closely resembled the book he was writing. 232 VIRTUAL GEOGRAPHIES ½¾ 1983 — Rudy Rucker issues “A Transrealist Manifesto” in The Bulletin of the Science Fiction Writers of America, which proposes “Transrealism” as an alternative movement to cyberpunk. It never caught on and remained confined to Rucker. — John Kessel presents a lecture to the English Club at North Carolina State University. He talks about “punk science fiction,” referring explicitly to Gibson and Sterling. — John Shirley, in his talk to the Eastern Science Fiction Association, mentions Gibson, Shiner and Sterling as part of “The New Movement.” — Cheap Truth, an uncopyrighted xeroxed fanzine, begins publication. Vincent Omniaveritas (Sterling’s nom de plume) lists Gibson, Sterling, Shiner, Pat Cadigan, and Greg Bear as a group of writers. — Bruce Bethke publishes a short story with the title “Cyberpunk” in Amazing Science Fiction Stories (November). 1984 — Gardner Dozois publishes “Science Fiction in the Eighties” in the Washington Post. Due to this article he is frequently credited with having coined the term ‘cyberpunk’: “About the closest thing here to a self-willed aesthetic ‘school’ would be that group of writers, purveyors of hard- edged high-tech stuff, who have on occasion been referred to as ‘cyberpunks’ – Sterling, Gibson, Shiner, Cadigan, Bear.”1 (December). — Neuromancer is published; “cyberspace” is coined. 1985 — NASFiC (the North American Science Fiction Convention) meets in Austin (Texas). It features a panel with Sterling, Shiner, Cadigan, Bear, and Shirley. — Neuromancer wins Philip K. Dick, Nebula, and Hugo awards. 1986 — The Science Fiction Research Association stages a panel discussion on cyberpunk with John Shirley, Jack Williamson, Norman Spinrad, and Gregory Benford (June 28). — Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology is published. — Burning Chrome, a collection of Gibson’s short stories, is published. — Gibson’s Count Zero is published. 1 Dozois, quoted by Swanwick in “A User’s Guide to the Post- moderns” (51). .