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The Banksoniain #19 An Iain (M.) Banks Fanzine February 2013

Editorial Banks’s Next Book(s) This edition looks back at 2012 but also Iain should have begun writing at forward into 2013 and beyond. Last year was the start of the year. In December he said that a busy one for Banks as two novels were January 7th was his planned start date, and the published, and so there was more than the book would be set in Northumbria, so perhaps usual publicity activity. after finishing the Coastal Path he is walking further afield now. The title, ISBN 2013 should see a new work and a release date have been confirmed on published, and there is also a cover makeover book selling websites. To be published by for the all the UK non M paperbacks. A quirk Little, Brown on 3 October, 2013, the of the publishing industry sees two UK hardback ISBN is: 978-1-4087-0394-6. editions of The Wasp Factory being issued and there is a musical theatre version of the In the meantime we can expect a piece of book being premièred at the Bregenzer non-fiction writing explain why he supports Festspiele in Austria. the cultural boycott of Israel in a chapter of the book Generation Palestine called Our 2014 will be an Iain M. Banks year with the People. The book’s editor is Rich Wiles, and author being one of the guests of honour at it is published by Pluto Press on 20 March Loncon 3, that year’s World 2013. ISBN: 978-0-7453-3243-7 Convention, taking place in London, and there is also the expectation of a science Since the last Banksoniain a piece of non- fiction novel later that year. fiction has been published in the online reincarnation of New Worlds magazine. The Media Scanner column on pages #2 & #3 Iain’s article is called A Rand-t! It explores highlights interesting pieces of Iain’s press the similarities between authors Lafayette coverage since the last issue. Some particular Ron Hubbard and Ayn Rand, and how both of events have been picked out for their own them have spawned cults. sections on pages #4 & #5. The cover See www.newworlds.co.uk/nonfiction.php makeover gets this issue’s centrespread, alongside the regular Backlist feature. The The Stonemouth UK paperback, ISBN: 978-0- Bregenz Festival announcement is examined 349-00020-6, was published at the beginning on page #8. After that we look back at the of January. The cover is the first of a series publicity tour for The Hydrogen Sonata, and produced by Mark Ecob which will see all the also the reaction to the book. New this issue, Abacus paperback re-designed. More details on the back page with the calendar and some on page #6 Worldcon news, is a cartoon from Conscious The 2014 M book, i.e. the one after next, was Bob, Citizens, that is planned to mentioned by Iain in an interview on the be a regular feature. GeekChocolate website. He said that he had February 2013 marks 9 years of this fanzine, had ideas in the universes of The Algebraist with 19 irregularly spaced issues. In the 2012 and Against A Dark Background, as well as Nova awards three months ago we managed having a Culture story ready to go. More to be placed #5 with 13 votes in the Best details of this interview are on page #3, along Fanzine category. Thanks for the support. with some next Culture book references in an interview on the Orbit website.

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #1 “proportion of Iain Banks’ book sales as ‘Iain Media Scanner M Banks’ / ‘Iain Banks’ since records began Tom Adair's review of New Writing Scotland in 1998” as 47%/53%. 30 in The Scotsman (22 Sep 2012) took the opportunity to list some of the authors who Stephen. Kelmany in an piece headed, ‘Five were first published in previous editions. Iain Of the best...: Children in peril.’ in The Banks was mentioned, and indeed it was the Sunday Telegraph (14 Oct 2012) put The 1983 edition in which a poem by Iain called Wasp Factory with The Adventures of 041 was included five or six months before Huckleberry Finn, Jamrach's Menagerie, The Wasp Factory was published. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha and Mister Pip as his selection. The Bookseller's featured The Wasp Factory in one of their Book of the Week items (28 Iain was in the company of film director Ken Sep 2012). Philip Stone's article noted that Loach, former MP Tony Benn, and various “just 10 editions of novels have sold more current MPs in being amongst the signatories than 10,000 copies every year since the turn to a letter to (18 Oct 2012) of the century”, and that the Abacus headed “People's petition against austerity”. paperback of Banks's first published novel The letter described the policy as “an was one of them. The sales figures since economic catastrophe” and asked those who January 2000 show that the yearly totals wanted to “save the welfare state and resist ranged between 18,600 in 2004 to 10,600 in spending cuts” to sign at: www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk 2011, for a total of 172,000 copies, and that this meant £1.2m passing through the tills. In Emma Seith's article in Educational Supplement2 (19 Oct 2012) Iain On BBC Radio Scotland’s The Book Café (8 1 was asked about inspiration teachers. He Oct 2012) Iain talked about his new book mentioned Mr Hare at Gourock, but and its musical motif, revealing that he had concentrated on Joan Woods who was his thought of the title for , but English teacher at Greenock High, she “also only when it was too late to change, so he sort ran the creative writing club that my friend of had the phrase on the shelf for quite a few Ken MacLeod, another science fiction writer, years. He was also asked to define his life in and I went along to for a couple of years.” He three books one for childhood, another for described her as a “cultural lighthouse”, and adolescence and one for a desert Island. Iain’s “a big fan of T.S. Eliot”, she also supported picks were: Kemlo and the Zones of Silence, his sixth-year dissertation on science fiction. the first book that got him into science fiction, is dedicated to her memory. although he described it as a terrible but it opened up the possibilities of what could be In a second appearance of the year on BBC done. The book that made the biggest Radio 5’s Richard Bacon show (25 Oct impression on him during his adolescence was 2012)3 Iain was introduced with the Guardian Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for the quote that he is the writer “against which all energy and the “you can do that with prose” other sci-fi writers should be measured”. feeling. For the desert island he chose Invited to set the scene for the Culture novels, Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, Iain summarised it along the line of an which he got about halfway through some advanced humanoid society where AIs do the years ago. Iain did say that he was tempted by moral algebra for any interference they carry Lanark, which he described as the “greatest out. Richard talked about the metaphoric work of twentieth-century Scottish literature”. aspects of science fiction allowing the writer to tackle real world issues. Iain agreed, The Bookseller noted that Iain M Banks’s emphasising the ability to design a society in latest was the highest new entry in the order to stress a particular facet to concentrate Original Fiction chart (12 Oct 2012). The on. Iain said that “in theory” it should be article also said that sold 42,000 copies in hardback. It also gave the 2 http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6296462 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01n62f6 3 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ngqtd

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #2 possible, “if I am doing my job correctly”, to racism”, there is a basic “cultural difference” read his latest book as a standalone without between the Scots and the English. “The knowing anything about the Culture, but Scots... just seem to be more communitarian suggested that or The than the consensus expressed by the UK Player of Games were better places to start population as a whole”. the whole series. 6 SF Signal (28 Nov 2012) held a ‘Mind Asked about the political content of The Meld’ trying to establish the secret behind the Hydrogen Sonata, Iain explained that success of the Culture novels, asking that although writing about aliens the frailties that question of a variety of other authors. John he explored are very much traits that we share Scalzi admitted he just enjoyed being a with his characters. The author’s support for tourist, “gawking at all the cool shit that’s in was raised, and he the Culture”, and he really wanted an again stressed it was to do with the fact that “encyclopedia of The Culture”. It was Banks's he expected an independent Scotland to be resume rather than anything structural that set more left wing, and that the country never them apart for Robert Buettner. Neal Asher really fell for Thatcherism like England did. said he always looked for a sensawunda in The conversation then carried on about books and “Banks delivers it in spades”, Scotland leaving the UK and possibly or along with something rare in SF, humour. possibly not joining the European Union, for Compassion was the one word opening longer than the discussion of science fiction. sentence of Damien G. Walter, who then Finally, Richard turned to Iain’s support, as a explained that the books “are meditations on patron of the Safe Space4 charity which ideas of altruism, and values of good supports survivors of sexual abuse in the light and evil.” He also pointed to the humour and of the then developing Jimmy Saville story. how Banks manages to write “anti-genre” The pair talked about the importance of offending the prevailing values. helping the abused to communicate their said an author should “contrive ways to keep experiences. your hero and heroine in pulse-pounding jeopardy”. Most do this simply, but one of Iain was on interviewed on the BBC News Banks's “unique accomplishments is to see strand ‘Five Minutes With’ (3 Nov 2012)5 past what I call the ‘idiot plot.’” which was a fun little exchange with Matthew Stadlen. In an article called ‘In praise of ... great first lines’ in The Herald (06 Dec 2012), Teddy To mark the sixtieth anniversary of the hit Jamieson said that “First lines are show-off parade The Independent on Sunday (11 Nov lines. Lines where the author often reveals 2012) asked 60 of Britain's leading what kind of writer he is.” He then cited the personalities to name their perfect record, and opening of , claiming, “All explain why. Iain chose Give Ireland Back to the darkness and the teenage ghoulish glee the Irish, saying, “despite being banned by the that animates its middle-aged author is on BBC, still reached number 16 and proves display.” popularity transcends censorship!” The article did not mention that this was the debut single On the GeekChocolate7 website an interview of what was then, February 1972, Paul with Iain was posted (27 Dec 2012) that McCartney's new band Wings. although focused on The Hydrogen Sonata also covered the history of the Culture books In The Scotsman's preview of the Radical and the possible future. Iain revealed that the Independence Conference (14 Nov 2012) Iain general idea had come from watching an explained his support was based on his edition of QI that had covered The Great observation that, “without resorting to crude we're-so-brilliant nationalism or outright 6http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2012/11/mind- meld-the-secret-to-the-success-of-iain-m-banks- 4 http://www.safe-space.co.uk/ culture-novels/ 5 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts- 7http://www.geekchocolate.co.uk/index.php?optio 20181130 n=com_content&view=article&id=296

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #3 Disappointment. [This was when William through the Arts. This award comes from the Miller prophesied that Jesus would return in College Historical Society at Trinity College 1844 for what the book of Daniel said would Dublin. Previous winners have been actor be the “cleansing of the sanctuary”.] John Rhys Davies, comedian Joe Randazzo, Extrapolating from that starting point Iain and another writer, Roddy Doyle. The medal “liked the idea of not just a prophecy that is named for Edmund Burke the eighteenth came true, but an entire holy book that was century politician who attended Trinity and proved to be absolutely correct” and “it kind founded a society that was a precursor of the of blossomed from there”. current organisation.

An ‘Extreme Reading’ competition run by the Plymouth City Council's library service was Abacus 40th Anniversary reported on in the local Evening Herald (29 Abacus the UK paperback publishers of Iain Dec 2012). One of the commended entries Banks books are celebrating their fortieth was a picture of Keira Jones hanging upside anniversary with new editions of eighteen down from a trapeze reading Dead . She books selected from their history. was quoted in the article as saying, “The subject of this book is the survival of the The company started off with non-fiction, individual in the face of a chaotic world, issuing books like E.F. Schumacher’s Small is which is a subject close to my heart.”8 Beautiful, and the works of Primo Levi. They also published biography and economics The announcement that the Royal Opera books before moving into fiction. The books House would be staging The Wasp Factory in chosen for special editions are all published their 2013-14 season (see also page #8) was on 4 April, 2013 and include: Douglas in a press release that covered 2013-2020. Coupland’s Generation X, Nelson Mandela’s Despite this, much of the coverage did pick autobiography, Long Walk To Freedom, Old out the Banks work. The Evening Standard Filth by Jane Gardam, Tim Harford's The (20 Jan 2013) even headline this piece, Undercover Economist, and Quite Ugly One “Psychopaths and human sacrifice as Opera Morning by Christopher Brookmyre. House takes on ENO”, whilst the Telegraph (11 Jan 2013) mentioned in as part of what it The new edition of The Wasp Factory has a saw as trying “to seduce a younger audience”. cover by Michelle Thompson, and the illustration picks up various themes from the The UK paperback of Stonemouth was book, and has a caption in the top left saying, published in January and made it into the “the book that announced a genius”. Sunday Times (20 Jan 2013) at #9, with sales that week of 6,965. The same number put the book at #10 in the mass-market fiction chart in The Bookseller (18 Jan 2013) which noted that hardback sales had been over 10,000.

Iain was one of many signatories to a letter in the Guardian (5 Feb 2013) calling on the British public to attend a People's Assembly Against Austerity at Central Hall, Westminster, on 22 June 2013 which would “provide a national forum for anti-austerity views which, while increasingly popular, are barely represented in parliament.” ISBN: 978-0-349-13890-9 Iain will be receiving the Burke Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse The second 2013 edition of The Wasp Factory for is part of the general Iain Banks paperback 8 http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/Extreme- cover makeover discussed on page #6. Reading-caught-camera/story-17710094- detail/story.html (Goto picture 4)

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #4 Piece – Kickstarter The Hydrogen Sonata – An attempt to raise money via the crowd- Sales & Reviews sourcing website Kickstarter to fund a short film of the Iain Banks story, Piece, but The Hydrogen Sonata was officially unfortunately it failed to meet its target of published on Thursday 4 October 2012. That $20,000. night there was an event at Toppings & Co, a bookshop in Bath. The previous day there had Piece was first published in the magazine of been a press day in London and signing at the The Observer newspaper on 13 August Piccadilly branch of Waterstone’s. The book 1989. The tagline for the fundraising effort was also available at Iain’s appearance at summarised the plot well as, “3 Journeys. 2 Marlborough LitFest on 29 September. Coincidences. 1 Devastating climax. A searing examination of the price of faith.” The The book entered The Bookseller’s Original Kickstarter funding began on 19 October and Fiction chart at #4, being the highest new ran for two months. The group that put it entry on 12 Oct 2012, with sales of 6,663. It together, Piece Film Productions, consisted of was behind books by JK Rowling, Bernard four co-producers: Roger Gray (writer), Andy Cornwell and Martina Cole, which had kept Edwards (director), Rob Leese Jones and the same order in the top three. The following Felix Jude West (sound). week it was at #10, with another 3,039 copies sold, and the week after that at #14 (sales 9 Roger Gray is mentioned in Iain’s book Raw 2,131). The edition dated 16 November 2012 Spirit and Iain was backing the project by gave a four week summary up to November agreeing to sign copies of the script as one of 3rd, during which The Hydrogen Sonata the perks for those at the $400 funding level. ranked nineteenth selling 8,024 copies. Roger had previous worked on the scripts of a couple of Iain’s books for the company Stuart Kelly in the Guardian (10 Oct 2012) Natural Nylon when they had the rights to called the Culture a “post-scarcity, hedonistic, them. One of the co-owners of that actor led Machiavellian, libertarian, ass-kicking science production company was Sean Pertwee and fiction society”, and clearly a fan of the whole he was listed as being cast in the film along series postulated that it is “clear that the dual with Lucy Clements. Further casting threat to the Culture is not just anomie, but announcements were made during the course religion.” About the book he said that it was of the funding period with Paul Raymond “epic in scope and derangingly replete in coming on board as Mo, and Mark Armstrong detail”, and “Banks can riff like no other science-fiction writer” as The Traveller. Another addition to the team was Gary Lloyd, no stranger to Banks related On the Amazon UK website the book was 10 music , to compose the score. dragged down by a series of one star reviews

The stated aim of the non-profit project was that just commented on the price of the to “create a high-end festival short” but they Kindle edition in relation to the hardback rather than the contents of the book. were realistic about it not being a guerrilla film acknowledging the need for period The Independent on Sunday (9 Dec 2012) authenticity and the potential difficulties of made David Barnett’s Books of the Year list filming on a plane, a train, and a coach. It was where it was described as, “epic in scope, disappointing to see it fail to reach the ambitious in its ideas and absorbing in its funding objective, but the last update said that execution, and more fun than you'd expect an they had learnt a great deal in the process and ultra-liberal space utopia to be.” A similar would be looking to try again in the future. So accolade was accorded by Tim Martin in the look out for that by keeping an eye on Telegraph (20 Dec 2012) and where he Kickstarter or the Twitter feed commented that it was, “another deftly @piecethefilm. sarcastic saga of deep-space politics with welcome reappearances from his garrulous, 9 See Banksoniains #2, #3 and #5. heavily armed, philosophical warships.” 10 See Banksoniains #2, #6, #12 & #15.

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #5 Iain Banks Makeover The UK paperbacks of Iain Banks are getting a makeover with a set of covers by the same designer, Mark Ecob. Stonemouth was the first of these to be issued on 3 January 2013.

ISBN: 978-0-349-13920-3

ISBN: 978-0-349-00020-6

Inside the front cover it included the some of these new cover designs. Waterstone’s have another exclusive edition that they did not tell anybody about. The first printings sold in that shop had a ‘Reading Guide’, with some questions for reading groups to consider, and background information about the inspiration for the book. The content of this is available ISBN: 978-0-349-13915-9 11 on Waterstone’s website , which is useful as The three above were published on 7 they are already selling reprints without the February, 2013, with the rest of the reissues extra content. are scheduled for 6 June, although the cover The consistency and simplicity of the design of one of these releases has already been does make them stand out when viewed face revealed, and was also in the paperback on together, although not as much as the early edition of Stonemouth. black and white designs of Peter Brown.

ISBN: 978-0-349-13914-2

ISBN: 978-0-349-13913-5 In the meantime in April there is the Abacus 40th anniversary edition of The Wasp Factory 11http://www.waterstones.com/wat/images/special/ pdf/Stonemouth_reading_guide.pdf the cover of this is illustrated on page #4.

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #6

Banks Backlist As usual Russian reprints have new covers International and New Editions and new ISBNs. As far as I can tell, this is their ninth edition of Осиная Фабрика (The The French paperback edition of Trames Wasp Factory). ISBN: 978-5-699-48305-1. It () has been published by Le Livre de is actually bilingual with English on the left Poche. ISBN: 978-2-253-16465-4. hand page and Russian on the right.

So has . ISBN: 978-2-36051-066-5. The US edition of Stonemouth is being produced by Pegasus Crime. ISBN: 978-1- 60598-382-0.

A new Italian edition of La fabbrica delle vespe (The Wasp Factory). Alessandra di Luzio has revised his original 1990 translation. It has been issued by Meridiano The French rights to Stonemouth have been Zero. ISBN: 978-88-8237-243-X. sold to Calmann-Lévy.

In unabridged audiobooks Hachette Digital are working through the Banks backlist as downloads via Audible and Amazon, the January book was Feersum Endjinn, with Excession, and The Crow Road listed for the next few months. Physical editions are lagging behind but are available from ISIS Publishing12 and they will be releasing The Hydrogen Sonata, The Crow Road and in the next four months. ISIS’s MP3 editions also include the Apple MB4 format as well.

12 https://www.isis-publishing.co.uk/

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #7 Books About Banks Bregenz Festival Back in 2006 there was a one day academic The Wasp Factory as Musical Theatre conference in London13. A forthcoming book, The Bregenz Festival that is held every The Transgressive Iain Banks, is substantially summer in the town on the shore of Lake the result of that event. Constance in Austria this year has a couple of performances of The Wasp Factory. The Bregenzer Festspiele as it is called in German is famous for the fact that the operas take place on the Seebühne, a stage floating in the lake. One of the other strands to the festival is called ‘Kunst aus der Zeit’ which translates into English as ‘Art Of Our Times’.

The artistic director of the festival is a British librettist and opera director David Pountney, and he has been involved in the production of The Wasp Factory which is described as “A work of music theatre by , text by

David Pountney, after the novel by Iain ISBN: 978-0-7864-4225-6 14 Banks” . The production is described as, Edited by conference organisers Martyn “For three performers, string quintet and Colebrook and Katherine Cox it is due for electronic instruments. In English with publication in June 2013 by MacFarland & German surtitles”. Co. The subtitle of the book is Essays on a Writer Beyond Borders, and it is divided into Ben Frost is an Australian composer. four thematic areas: the Scottish context, the currently based in Iceland. The musicians are geographies of his writing, the impact of being provided by the Reykjavik Sinfonia, genre, and a combined focus on gender, and the performers are: Jördis Richter, Mariam Wallentin and Lieselot de Wilde. games and play.

Your editor has a very small involvement Costume design is by the avant-garde German with this book, having written a few fashion designer Boris Bidjan Saberi. Set paragraphs that were used in the introduction design is by Mirella Weingarten, with lighting by Lucy Carter he was generously given a co-author credit by the editors. The premiere is at 20:00 on Thursday 1st

Another academic study, this time with just a August, 2013, at the Werkstattbühne chapter on Banks is also coming out this year. “Workshop Theatre”, with a second The Grotesque in Contemporary British performance on the Saturday. Before each Fiction by Robert Duggan is being published performance there will be a talk in German about the work. by the University of Manchester Press, ISBN: 9780719078910. The publicity says it “offers It is usual for the 'Art Of Our Times' shows to detailed critical readings of key works of be performed elsewhere after Bregenz. Indeed modern fiction” and “outlines the aesthetic it is described as a co-production with trajectories of” a variety of authors, and lists Holland Festival and the Royal Opera House Iain Banks’s The Wasp Factory as a topic in a Covent Garden in association with the Cork chapter called Iain Banks: Improbable Midsummer Festival and Mercat de les Flors / possibilities. Duggan was at the conference Graner, Barcelona. The Royal Opera House mentioned above, and a version of his paper, have announced it as part of their 2013/14 Postmodernism, Iain (M.) Banks and the Gulf season where it will be performed at the War, is in Extrapolation, vol.48, no.3. Linbury Studio Theatre.

13 A report is in Banksoniain #11 14 http://www.bregenzerfestspiele.com/en/node/3092

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #8 well. Daniel continued on this theme asking if Banks on Tour 2012 the character of Stewart had ever surprised Iain’s autumn tour was ostensibly to promote him. “He better bloody not” was Banks’s The Hydrogen Sonata, but a couple of the retort, before admitting that it had happened events did not have that focus. once, with Sharrow [from Against a Dark At the First Story 5x15 event in Oxford (28 Background] and the scene in the transit Sep 2012), five speakers gave unscripted 15 lounge with the two baddies. The fact that she minute talks. Iain used the opportunity to turns the tables on them was not how that was expound on the answer he gives at Q&As originally planned. when asked where he gets his ideas from. Iain said that he had had an idea for the next Iain’s appearance at Marlborough LitFest (29 book [The Quarry] at 07:20 that morning Sep 2012) was just five days before the which was good as he was in the thinking publication of the new M book, but about thinking phase for the next book. The concentrated on Stonemouth even though The fact that Stonemouth had had its publication Hydrogen Sonata was available on the sales delayed meant that he had been talking about table. The interview was conducted by Daniel it whilst writing The Hydrogen Sonata, and Hahn who began by asking Iain how much of completely forgot the name of Stewart’s the book he has head before starting. The girlfriend at one point. author replied that it was “pretty much all”. Questions from the audience covered a He viewed the idea of starting with a single variety of subjects. Asked if he had ever scene or idea and seeing where it went as very thought of Special Circumstances doing bad much a romantic ideal of how a writer works. things, he said no, but thanks for the idea. It does not work for him. He tried it once and When it was pointed out his mainstream ended up with something over 400,000 words characters tended to be left-leaning but rich he long. So he likes to plan extensively which he said he was a Champagne Socialist and now a suggested was akin to editing in his head Vintage one. before he writes. He appreciates that other writers work in different ways. Having The official book launch for The Hydrogen recently done a Google Hangout that included Sonata was at Topping & Co. in Bath (4 Oct Alistair Reynolds, Iain had discovered that 2012). The bookshop is quite long and thin, Alistair writes a great deal and then whittles it and the chairs for the audience were arranged down, keeping the deleted text in case he can in short rows, but long columns pointing find a home for it later, although this rarely towards the centre of the shop by the till. happens. There was a third arm of the audience in the alcove opposite this, so with Iain standing by Asked about the voice for Stonemouth Iain the till he had to look left, right and ahead to said that for this book it was a decision made engage with everyone. An incident on the line early, along with the plan to have pretty much meant that Iain’s train had been delayed and the whole book focus on a single weekend. so the event did not get going until after Every character, even Ellie, is seen through 20:30. the eyes of Stewart. The protagonist’s occupation came from seeing a feature in an As this event was in conjunction with the architectural magazine a few years ago and it magazine SFX, I had expected someone from coming back to him when he wanted Stewart the publication which is based in the city to to be vaguely artistic, having had pretentious interview Iain, however, he was left to his ambitions. Other than what is in the book Iain own devices and after a short introduction does not know much about his characters, took questions. First up was someone who even the main ones. In general his planning in noted that Iain is now much older than most done in note form, whilst he assumes that of his protagonists. He agreed and said it was “proper writers” have files on each character. about time they probably should be a bit more He puts this down to being a science fiction grownup. The research issue for his science writer which precludes such research, so he fiction work was brought up, and he said that tends not to bother with the mainstream as he didn’t have a scientific background but had

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #9 read New Scientist for over thirty years and relationship to The Crow Road? Iain replied also took Scientific American. He further that the initial idea was for someone returning explained that as he didn’t do near future stuff to somewhere they had not voluntarily left, he could get away with the advances of the and that the funeral was a good hook. He did Culture just being his own wish fulfilment: think twice as it was similar to some extent, drug glands, changing sex, 300/400 year but had eventually consciously decided to lifespans, and death optional anyway as you pursue the idea. could be backed up. The openings of his books was remarked Asked if he approached the two strands of his upon and The Wasp Factory and The Crow work in different ways Iain said that as the Road cited. Iain said that they were usually in producer he didn’t really see a difference but place at the planning stage and for the latter appreciated that the consumer did. It was all he had specifically tried to do something just plots, characters and dialogue to him, absurdist and Milliganesque. Asked about although mainstream didn’t have sarcastic emotional attachments to his characters Iain drones or AIs, and there was more freedom did admit to this, “especially the ladies” and when writing science fiction. This was particularly Yalson in Consider Phlebas, “I followed by a query about why he kept didn’t like writing her death scene.” When returning to the Culture. His answer to this talking about the Culture later he also said was that he had things to write in the setting. that he did change things when he got them The Hydrogen Sonata came from what was wrong. The quote from the Koran had been initially a throwaway line about where the changed when a scholar pointed out a better elder civilisations had gone. He keeps a translation, and although it was “not quite as colour coded file of ideas, science fiction in good, it was more truthful now”. red/blue and mainstream in black/white. Questions from the audience covered a wide Whilst developing the latest Culture book his spectrum of topics as usual. Did he hate thinks he probably has enough materials atonal music?, “Yes, I love melody.” Why did already for the next one, and had also thought he write about bad politicians in Stonemouth of ideas for sequels to The Algebraist and and The Hydrogen Sonata? “There were good Against a Dark Background. ones in Surface Detail.” Why did Bascule Another enquirer asked if he had a chart that speak the way he did in Feersum Endjinn? showed the timescale of the Culture. He said “To slow readers down by making it hard to that he did now, along with a file on his read. This would make it more alien, even computer called Culture Facts that was though it is my only SF novel set on ”. extremely nerdy. Most things are located by He finally admitted, “It seemed like a good their relation to the Idiran War. The Hydrogen idea at the time.” Sonata was 800 years after this whereas A couple of Iain’s events from this period can Surface Detail was a further 700 years later. be found on the Internet. A video of his He also admitted that he had got it a bit wrong Google Hangout15 (27 Sep 2012) with fellow with Excession, and without admitting exactly writers Alistair Reynolds and Peter Hamilton, what the mistake was said that it had been and eight competition winning fans is corrected in future editions. available. Approaches to writing and the Invited to start by explaining the premise of future of science fiction were amongst the Stonemouth at the Cheltenham Literary topics discussed. Festival (6 Oct 2012) Iain soon digressed into Twelve minutes of highlights from Iain’s how he had accidently extended the appearance at Manchester Literature Festival Cairngorms in changing the geography of (11 Oct 2012) were released as a podcast 16 Scotland to fit in his fictional town. He got back on track to mention, “nostalgia, sex, friends betrayal, etc.” The interviewer asked whether in having a twenty-something 15http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZnZnza8Kng protagonist and a funeral, did the book have a 16http://manchesterliterature.blogspot.co.uk/2012/ 12/seasonal-cheer.html

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #10 The interview from the Waterstone’s The 3rd Hydrogen Sonata exclusive edition turned up on the Orbit There seem to have been three different website in November under the heading, ‘An versions of The Hydrogen Sonata hardback Interview With Iain M. Banks on the 25th issued last year. Firstly the standard edition, Anniversary of the Culture’. It was ostensibly and then two bookseller exclusives. W H to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first Smith had the most obvious one with a publication of a Culture novel. The date being limited edition cover, which was advertised celebrated was actually 23rd April 1987 but it before publication. Waterstone’s had an made more commercial sense to mark it when edition with an interview with the author as a new Culture book was available. an appendix and also a list of characters. The interview starts by discussing The Hydrogen Sonata, but then moves to the Culture in general. He admitted to some extent the drive to use Subliming as the focus of the story came from being asked at signings and interviews which prompted him to think properly about it. He said that this “is as close as I ever get, or want to get, to audience participation.” He also located where he had been thinking about QI (See GeekChocolate interview on page #3) as being Archena in Spain.

An interesting point Iain made, that answers a The cover of the WH Smith exclusive edition question increasingly being posed at his Q&A has different coloured lettering and the appearances was, “I don’t intend ever to background in purple and continues the moon complete it; I decided right from the start to in space theme on the back which the original resist the temptation to tear it all down at any does not and is blue. The design is by Lauren point”. The Culture is resisting the temptation Panepinto who is the creative director at Orbit to Sublime rather it wants to stick around to Books, and blogs about covers on their do good. He said that “new ideas keep on website17, although she did not for this one. coming along at a slow but steady rate”, and The image is a space background from that he was currently had conflicting shutterstock.com. There are many similar temptations to either write something “more images but it is something like #92107577 or oblique” or “tighter and more wildly kinetic”. #69845713. When asked about the “ethically problematic” practices of Special Circumstances, Iain The third Hydrogen Sonata only came to The agreed but put it down to the readers’ Banksoniain’s attention via a complaining perception that “this action-adventure stuff is post that was made in the Iain Banks Forum. happening all the time all over the place”. Unfortunately it did not state where the That is down to him as the writer needing to edition was available and this was only tell a story that includes some “rip- confirmed by a forumite in Uruguay who had roaringness”. The final question was about the had a friend send an edition from London large set-pieces in Culture books. Iain said which happened to have been purchased in a that he would like to write something that had branch of Waterstone’s. When your editor as many as Consider Phlebas again, but that went looking there was a large display of the book had swept up “a couple of decades- books in the shop, but disappointingly no worth of such ideas”. The “kinetic quality” of indication that there was any extra content, the Culture books is important to him, leaving which sort of defeats the point of producing the “characters just have to make their way such an item. through the stories and plots as best they can and frankly I pretty much leave them to it.” 17 http://www.orbitbooks.net/author/lauren-panepinto/

The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #11 2014 Worldcon Banksoniain Calendar As mentioned in our last issue Iain is one of 2013 the Guests of Honour at the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) Generation Palestine th otherwise known as Loncon 3. It is being held Wednesday, 20 March. at the ExCeL in London's Docklands between ISBN: 978-0-7453-3243-7.

Thursday 14th and Monday 18th August 2014 Reads, Central Library, Edinburgh th All Worldcons produce Progress Reports, 19:00 Thursday 18 April known as PRs. For Loncon 3, PR#0 was http://www.edinburghreads.eventbrite.co.uk/ issued on the day that they won the right to Iain Banks UK Paperback Makeovers hold the Worldcon. Before the convention Thursday 6th June happens we can expect four more PRs, and See page # 6 also that at least one of them will have an The Hydrogen Sonata, UK paperback article about Iain in it. Initially just posted out th to convention members, nowadays PRs are Thursday, 5 September. available on the Internet, so look out on ISBN: 978-0-356-50149-9. www.loncon3.org where you can also find The Quarry, UK hardback details on how to join the convention. Thursday, 3rd October.

In the meantime if you are already signed up ISBN: 978-1-4087-0394-6. for Loncon 3, or are a member of the 2013 N.B. Other Iain (M.) Banks events may be Worldcon, LoneStarCon 3, then you have the available. Any calendar updates will appear in right to nominate for the 2013 World Science our publically available Google Calendar: Fiction awards. These are known as Hugos, http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=bank after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of science soniain%40gmail.com fiction magazine Amazing Stories. Do confirm event details and Iain’s attendance with organisers before travelling. Iain’s book The Hydrogen Sonata is eligible for nomination having been published in 2012. By accident or design Iain will not have The Banksoniain is available as a PDF from a science fiction book out in 2013 for the http://efanzines.com/ 2014 awards, so you can probably expect him If you have any corrections, comments, to be handing one out at the ceremony which contributions, or want a paper copy then email: [email protected] is one of the main set pieces of the event.

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The Banksoniain Issue #19 Page #12