Bruce Sterling

Last updated
Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling (cropped).jpg
BornMichael Bruce Sterling
(1954-04-14) April 14, 1954 (age 69)
Brownsville, Texas, U.S.
Pen nameVincent Omniaveritas (in fanzine Cheap Truth )
Occupation
  • Writer
  • speaker
  • futurist
  • design instructor
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Texas at Austin (BA)
Period1970s–present
Genre Science fiction
Subject Cyberpunk
Literary movementCyberpunk/postcyberpunk
Spouse
(m. 2005)
Signature
Bruce Sterling signature.jpg
Website
well.com/conf/mirrorshades

Michael Bruce Sterling (born April 14, 1954) is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the Mirrorshades anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.

Contents

Sterling's first science-fiction story, Man-Made Self, was sold in 1976. He is the author of science-fiction novels, including Schismatrix (1985), Islands in the Net (1988), and Heavy Weather (1994). In 1992, he published his first non-fiction book, The Hacker Crackdown: Law and Disorder on the Electronic Frontier . [1]

He has been interviewed for documentaries such as Freedom Downtime , TechnoCalyps and Traceroute .

Writing

Sterling is one of the founders of the cyberpunk movement in science fiction, along with William Gibson, Rudy Rucker, John Shirley, Lewis Shiner, and Pat Cadigan. [2] In addition, he is one of the subgenre's chief ideological promulgators. This has earned him the nickname "Chairman Bruce". [3] He was also one of the first organizers of the Turkey City Writer's Workshop, and is a frequent attendee at the Sycamore Hill Writer's Workshop. He won Hugo Awards for his novelettes "Bicycle Repairman" (1996) and "Taklamakan" (1998). His first novel, Involution Ocean , published in 1977, features the world Nullaqua where all the atmosphere is contained in a single, miles-deep crater. The story concerns a ship sailing on the ocean of dust at the bottom and hunting creatures called dustwhales. It is partially a science-fictional pastiche of Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

In the early 1980s, Sterling wrote a series of stories set in the Shaper/Mechanist universe: the Solar System is colonized, with two major warring factions. The Mechanists use a great deal of computer-based mechanical technologies; the Shapers do genetic engineering on a massive scale. The situation is complicated by the eventual contact with alien civilizations; humanity eventually splits into many subspecies, with the implication that some of these vanish from the galaxy, reminiscent of the singularity in the works of Vernor Vinge. The Shaper/Mechanist stories can be found in the collections Crystal Express and Schismatrix Plus, which contains the novel Schismatrix and all of the stories set in the Shaper/Mechanist universe. Alastair Reynolds identified Schismatrix and the other Shaper/Mechanist stories as one of the greatest influences on his own work. [4]

Bruce Sterling at the 2010 Augmented Reality Event Bruce Sterling at ARE 2010.jpg
Bruce Sterling at the 2010 Augmented Reality Event

In the 1980s, Sterling edited the science fiction critical fanzine Cheap Truth under the alias of Vincent Omniaveritas. He wrote a column called Catscan for the now-defunct science fiction critical magazine SF Eye. He contributed a chapter to Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture (MIT Press, 2008) edited by Paul D. Miller, a.k.a. DJ Spooky. From April 2009 through May 2009, he was an editor at Cool Tools . [5]

From October 2003 [6] to May 2020 Sterling blogged at "Beyond the Beyond", which was hosted by Wired until the COVID-19 pandemic led Condé Nast to cut back because of an advertising slump. He also contributed to other print and online platforms, including The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction . [7]

His most recent novel (as of 2013) is Love Is Strange (December 2012), a paranormal romance (40k).

Writing projects

He has been the instigator of three projects which can be found on the Web -

Neologisms

Sterling has coined various neologisms to describe things that he believes will be common in the future, especially items which already exist in limited numbers.

Bibliography

Sterling's novels include:

Personal life

Sterling at Robofest '94 Bruce Sterling at Robofest.jpg
Sterling at Robofest '94

In the beginning of his childhood he lived in Galveston, Texas until his family moved to India.[ citation needed ] Sterling spent several years in India and has a fondness for Bollywood films. [14] In 1976, he graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in journalism. [15] In 1978, he was the Dungeon Master for a Dungeons & Dragons game whose players included Warren Spector, who cited Sterling's game as a major inspiration for the game design of Deus Ex. [16]

In 2003, he was appointed professor at the European Graduate School where he is teaching summer intensive courses on media and design. [15] In 2005, he became "visionary in residence" at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. He lived in Belgrade with Serbian author and film-maker Jasmina Tešanović [17] for several years, and married her in 2005. In September 2007 he moved to Turin, Italy. [18] Both Sterling and artist and musician Florian-Ayala Fauna are sponsors for V. Vale's RE/Search newsletter. [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<i>Wired</i> (magazine) American technology magazine

Wired is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has been in publication since March/April 1993. Several spin-offs have been launched, including Wired UK, Wired Italia, Wired Japan, and Wired Germany.

The Viridian Design Movement was an aesthetic movement focused on concepts from bright green environmentalism. The name was chosen to refer to a shade of green that does not quite look natural, indicating that the movement was about innovative design and technology, in contrast with the "leaf green" of traditional environmentalism. The movement tied together environmental design, techno-progressivism, and global citizenship. It was founded in 1998 by Bruce Sterling, a postcyberpunk science fiction author. Sterling always remained the central figure in the movement, with Alex Steffen perhaps the next best-known. Steffen, Jamais Cascio, and Jon Lebkowsky, along with some other frequent contributors to Sterling's Viridian notes, formed the Worldchanging blog. Sterling wrote the introduction to Worldchanging's book, which is considered the definitive volume on bright green thinking. Sterling formally closed the Viridian movement in 2008, saying there was no need to continue its work now that bright green environmentalism had emerged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Kessel</span> American author

John Joseph Vincent Kessel is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. He is a prolific short story writer, and the author of four solo novels, Good News From Outer Space (1989), Corrupting Dr. Nice (1997), The Moon and the Other (2017), and Pride and Prometheus (2018), and one novel, Freedom Beach (1985) in collaboration with his friend James Patrick Kelly. Kessel is married to author Therese Anne Fowler.

The Shaper/Mechanist universe is the setting for a series of science fiction short stories written by the author Bruce Sterling. The stories combined cover approximately 350 years of future history, for the period ranging from AD 2200–2550.

<i>Schismatrix</i> 1985 science fiction novel by Bruce Sterling

Schismatrix is a science fiction novel by Bruce Sterling, originally published in 1985. The story was Sterling's only novel-length treatment of the Shaper/Mechanist universe. Five short stories preceded the novel and are published together with it in a 1996 edition entitled Schismatrix Plus. Schismatrix was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1985, and the British Science Fiction Award in 1986.

RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy (1977–1979), which was started with small donations, provided to Vale by Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. RE/Search has published tabloid-sized magazines and books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. Vale</span> American writer

V. "Valhalla" Vale is an American editor, writer, interviewer, musician and, as Vale Hamanaka, was keyboardist for the initial configuration of Blue Cheer, before it became famous as a power trio. He is the publisher and primary contributor to books and magazines published by his company, RE/Search Publications. Vale is the host of the television talk show Counter Culture Hour on Public-access television cable TV channel 29 in San Francisco. The show is edited by his partner Marian Wallace. Vale is Japanese American.

The 57th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as Aussiecon Three, was held on 2–6 September 1999 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

<i>The Years Best Science Fiction: First Annual Collection</i>

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Taklamakan is a short story by American writer Bruce Sterling. It was first published in the 1998 Oct/Nov volume of Asimov's Science Fiction.

<i>The Nebula Awards 18</i>

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The bibliography of American science fiction author Bruce Sterling comprises novels, short stories and non-fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugo Award</span> Annual awards for science fiction or fantasy

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Condé Nast Entertainment is a production and distribution studio with film, television, social and online video, and virtual reality content.

"Swarm" is a science fiction novelette by Bruce Sterling, and his first magazine sale. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1982, and later republished in the 1989 collection Crystal Express as well as the 1999 collection The Good New Stuff: Adventure in SF in the Grand Tradition. "Swarm" was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and Locus Awards.

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Florian-Ayala Fauna is an American artist, musician, poet, and music producer. Fauna is the main member of the post-industrial music project uncertain.

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References

  1. "Bruce Sterling | Edge.org". www.edge.org. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  2. Swanwick, Michael (August 1986). "A User's Guide to the Postmoderns". Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. 10 (8).
  3. Nisi Shawl (2009-02-19). "Books | "The Caryatids": four clones need a home | Seattle Times Newspaper". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  4. "The World According to Bruce Sterling". Impact Lab. Archived from the original on 2 January 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  5. "Cool Tools: New Editor, Same Deal". Kk.org. 27 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  6. "HELLO WORLD | Beyond The Beyond". Wired.com . 2003-10-30. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  7. "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May/June 2020". goodreads. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  8. "The Dead Media Project". www.deadmedia.org. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  9. "Big Picture Business". Bigpicture.tv. Archived from the original on 2016-03-14. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  10. "The Viridian Design Movement". www.viridiandesign.org. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  11. "DIGITAL GALLERY: Bruce Sterling: Embrace the Decay", moca.org
  12. Shaping Things. Mediaworks Pamphlets. MIT Press. 7 October 2005. ISBN   9780262195331 . Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  13. "Viridian Note". Viridiandesign.org. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  14. "Shapeways interviews Bruce Sterling - Shapeways Blog on 3D Printing News & Innovation". Shapeways.com. 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2012-12-09.
  15. 1 2 "Bruce Sterling - The European Graduate School". egs.edu. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  16. "The Designer of 'Deus Ex' Explains How It Was Born Out of ' Dungeons & Dragons'". www.vice.com. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
  17. "Life Doesn't Lack for Variety | Beyond the Beyond from Wired.com". Blog.wired.com. 2005-11-19. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  18. "Putting people first » Bruce Sterling moving to Torino, Italy". Experientia.com. 2007-11-19. Archived from the original on 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  19. Sterling, Bruce (September 30, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search newsletter #165". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  20. Sterling, Bruce (October 12, 2017). "Welcome to V. Vale's RE/SearchNewsletter #166". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  21. Sterling, Bruce (October 18, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search Newsletter #167, October 2017 Part 2". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  22. Sterling, Bruce (November 10, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search Newsletter #168". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  23. Sterling, Bruce (November 17, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search Newsletter #169, Part Two". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  24. Sterling, Bruce (December 2, 2017). "WELCOME TO V. VALE's RE/SEARCH NEWSLETTER #170, December 2017". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  25. "1989 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-05-12.
  26. "2000 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 2009-05-12.