The Banksoniain #18 An Iain (M.) Banks Fanzine September 2012 Worldcon 2014 Banks’s Next Book(s) Iain M. Banks has been announced as one of Taking the imminent publication of The the Guests of Honour at the 2014 Worldcon. Hydrogen Sonata as Iain’s current book, the The winning bid to host the event was from next novel is the one he will probably be London, which had set up a formidable bid beginning to think about now and writing at team that had declared their intention early the beginning of 2013, but who knows when under the ‘London in 2014’ banner. They did it will be published. The Hydrogen Sonata not have a competing bid, but did have to go marked the end of Iain’s latest contract, but through the site selection vote, the result of The Banksoniain can reveal that earlier this which was announced at this year’s World year he signed a new three-book deal, so no Science Fiction Convention, Chicon 7. need to worry that your Banks fix will be withdrawn in the near future. On the Details of the guests are kept under wraps as Stonemouth tour Iain did mention one thing the voters, the members of Chicon 7, are about his next mainstream book. During his meant to make their choice based on location, appearance in Cambridge he said he planned facilities and organisational criteria rather to “dial up the weirdness”. than potential guests. The result was that London got 864 votes, with ‘None of the In the meantime Iain has contributed to a non- Above’ getting just 2. There were also various fiction collection called Generation Palestine. jokey write in bids that picked up a few votes. For this he has written a piece explaining his Once the result was announced the guests and “support for a cultural boycott of Israel due to the name of the convention were revealed. As the persecution of the Palestinian people.” well as this occurring at the business meeting The full title is, Generation Palestine: Voices in Chicago, there was a gathering in a pub in from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions London for interested parties on this side of Movement, and the paperback ISBN: 978-0- the Atlantic. 7453-3243-7. The editor is Rich Wiles, the publishers are Pluto Press, and it is listed for The other guests, some of which have a Banks release in March 2013. connection, are, in alphabetical order: John Clute (critic and author), Chris Foss (artist) Iain has written a non-fiction piece about the Malcolm Edwards (editor and publisher), author of Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, for the Jeanne Gomoll (fan), Robin Hobb (author), new incarnation of New Worlds, although the and Bryan Talbot (writer and artist). The actual magazine has yet to surface. It is name of the convention was also revealed, possible to register an interest at their website: Loncon 3, reflecting the two previous www.newworlds.co.uk Worldcons held in London in 1957 and 1965. The non M books look as if they are having a There have been four Worldcons in the UK cover makeover, with three listed for since then, two in Brighton (1979 and 1987) publication in February 2013 and then ten in and two in Glasgow (1995 and 2005). June, all with new ISBNs. More news on this Loncon 3 will be held at the Excel in London in the next issue, the new covers are being between Thursday 14th and Monday 18th created by Mark Ecob who has already August 2014. Membership is currently £95. produced the UK cover of the paperback Details at: www.loncon3.org edition of Stonemouth, listed for February. The Banksoniain Issue #18 Page #1 Media Scanner (he liked the whole album for its weird, dark energy), Meet Me Halfway by the Black Eyed A number of media appearances occurred just Peas (because he likes melody and this is a after issue #17 was published when Iain was beautiful example of it), Dizzee Rascal’s publicising the UK launch of Stonemouth. Bonkers (again the energy), Intervention by Iain got to read a section of Stonemouth when Arcade Fire (a different approach to music, he appeared on The Radio 2 Arts Show with and the start is just stunning), New Order's Claudia Winkleman1 (13/04/2012). The True Faith (the attitude, and the fact that they whole interview lasted about eight minutes ended up standing for that whole age) and whilst the host gushed about the book that she Wild, Wild Life from Talking Heads (an unimpeachable band he just loves). had not finished yet. Iain was on Start the Week2 on BBC Radio 4 The Mail on Sunday (08/04/2012) reported on St George’s Day when the topic was Iain talking about former Labour Prime national identity and belonging. The other Minister Gordon Brown, and saying, “I think guests were David Hare, discussing his play he’s been unfairly treated. His heart was roughly in the left place.” set in an English public school in 1962, Rachel Seiffert promoting a book set in A profile of Banks by Jake Kerridge in The sectarian Glasgow, and George Benjamin the Daily Telegraph (12/05/2012) focussed on English composer. the influence of bridges in his life. Iain talked When Stonemouth was discussed by the group about the fact that as well as being able to see the host, Andrew Marr, suggested that the the rail bridge from his bedroom window, he town was somewhere between Lossiemouth “grew up watching the other bridge, the road and Stonehaven, to which Iain sort of agreed, bridge, being built. We moved away from before they talked about the drugs problem of here when I was nine, and it was finished the Scottish coastal towns. They moved on to the following year, 1964. So both bridges have problem of Iain in his late fifties writing about loomed large in my life, literally and twenty-somethings. Rachel, having lived in metaphorically.” The same edition of the Leuchars, said she recognised the scenery and paper listed Stonemouth steady at #5 in its hardback fiction chart. asked about writing imaginary landscapes in his science fiction works. Iain replied that he Iain had some difficulties in making his had more control over the imagining worlds. appearance at the Borders Book Festival David Hare asked about the lack of interest in which were relayed by The Southern describing Stewart’s life in London. Iain Reporter (18/06/2012). Initially advertised to revealed that early on he had decided that the appear on the Thursday Banks had to cancel book would be about the weekend the due to food poisoning. Recovering he character returned, and so just has a couple of rearranged for the Sunday but a tyre problem flashback scenes which are actually characters on his car meant he only just arrived in time retelling stories. on that day. The online newspaper had a link to a video of a nine minute interview3. Also on April 23 Iain went One on One with Liz Green on BBC Radio Leeds. They talked The Daily Record (25/06/2012) reported about many things including his writing Iain’s involvement in launching The Reading regime which in theory is weekdays 9-5, but Relay, a Government scheme aimed at in reality can start at 4 in the morning, which encouraging people to read more. Libraries his mother believes is because he was born across Scotland promoted books on themes around that time. His musical choices were: linked to the Olympics and other sporting Pelican by the Maccabees (a song that events this summer. The Launch was at Fife’s energised him at the beginning of the year Lochgelly Library on Thursday 21 June. In when he was writing), Anna Calvi’s Desire 3http://www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk/lifestyle/borders 1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01fcxpf -book-festival/banks-beats-food-poisoning-and- 2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gf4pt punctures-to-make-it-to-melrose-1-2361652 The Banksoniain Issue #18 Page #2 the article Banks was quoted as saying, “I was take inspiration from them, without them an active kid, spending a lot of time getting actually having a big influence on your scratches on my wee bare knees, but even so I work”), Leonard Cohen (“not a lot of people spent hours in the local library - it was a home know that he used to write novels as well. He from home. I did a lot of my growing up in did two…They are actually pretty good”), libraries, and completed my education there.” The Marx Brothers (“sheer anarchy”), Monty Python (“reinvented comedy for a new Interviewed in the July/August issue of New generation”), John Sladek (“the funniest Humanist4 Iain revealed that he has a science fiction writer of all time”), The ’70s document called ‘Culture Facts’ on his (“pretty good time to grow up in”), Scotland writing computer that he uses to check things. (“being Scottish means a lot to me”), 2001: A He said that he started it, “because I kept Space Odyssey (“it sort of took sci-fi films to forgetting what colour the drones’ aura fields a whole new level”), and Star Wars turn when they were being sarcastic.” When (“Consider Phlebas only really exists because asked what he did to chillax Iain said that his of Star Wars”). inner curmudgeon still stuck with the word relaxed which “is my normal state. If I want Interviewed in The Guardian (21/07/2012) to get stressed I do something foolish like M John Harrison revealed that his book Light visit London.” came about after “he got drunk with Iain Banks, who told him his trouble was that he Iain wrote on the Radical Independence 5 didn’t have enough fun”.