William Gibson On The Future Of The Book
William Gibson On the Future of Publishing: Made to Order Books
By Steven Kurutz
It’s no surprise that William Gibson is a prolific user of Twitter. The author of science-fiction classics like “Neuromancer” and “Spook Country” has long been interested in emerging technology. In recent years, Gibson has abandoned the speculative world of sci-fi to write thrillers set in the present-day. As he told an interviewer in 2004, “Finding myself actually in the 21st century really makes want to write about the actual 21st century, which is stranger and more complicated than anything I would have been allowed to come up with.”
Gibson’s new novel, “Zero History,” similarly explores modern culture, particularly the cult of consumerism and marketing. Speakeasy will publish a longer Q&A with Gibson about his new book tomorrow. In the meantime, we wanted to get his take on a much-debated hot topic: the future of book publishing. As you might expect, Gibson had some interesting things to say on the subject.
