½¾ Appendix: A 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 . 1981 — Sterling introduces ’s manuscript for “” 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 “” is published in Omni (May). — Gibson sends at an outline of a to be called Jacked In (October). 1982 — Gibson sends Carr an expanded outline for his novel, now to be called (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 : A Look at Punk SF.” — (dir. ), 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 — issues “A Transrealist Manifesto” in The Bulletin of the 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. — , 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. — 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 ‘’ – Sterling, Gibson, Shiner, Cadigan, Bear.”1 (December). — Neuromancer is published; “” 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, , and Gregory Benford (June 28). — Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology is published. — Burning Chrome, a collection of Gibson’s short stories, is published. — Gibson’s is published.

1 Dozois, quoted by Swanwick in “A User’s Guide to the Post- moderns” (51).