Photo: THE VERGE

Author, journalist, editor, critic, and futurist Bruce Sterling helped spawned the cyberpunk movement with his numerous short stories and early novels THE ARTIFICIAL KID (1980), SCHISMATRIX (1985), and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award-winning ISLANDS IN THE NET (1988). He edited the sub-genre’s seminal manifesto MIRRORSHADES: THE CYBERPUNK ANTHOLOGY (1986). With his fellow cyberpunk William Gibson, Sterling co-wrote THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE (1990), which was one of the first novels to bring the concept of steampunk to the masses. Sterling’s other acclaimed novels include HEAVY WEATHER (1994), HOLY FIRE (1996), DISTRACTION (1998; Arthur C. Clarke Award), ZEITGEIST (2000), THE ZENITH ANGLE (2004), THE CARYATIDS (2009), LOVE IS STRANGE: A PARANORMAL ROMANCE (2012), and PIRATE UTOPIA (2016).

He was awarded Hugos for his novelette “Bicycle Repairman” and “Taklamakan.” His numerous shorter works have been collected in CRYSTAL EXPRESS (1989), 蝉の女王 [Japanese] (1989), GLOBALHEAD (1992), A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED FUTURE (1999), VISIONARY IN RESIDENCE (2006), ASCENDANCIES: THE BEST OF BRUCE STERLING (2007), GOTHIC HIGH-TECH (2011), and TRANSREAL CYBERPUNK (2016 with Rudy Rucker). Beginning with THE HACKER CRACKDOWN: LAW AND DISORDER ON THE ELECTRONIC FRONTIER (1992), Sterling has produced several exceptional nonfiction books: PARCO GIOCHI CON PENA DI MORTE [ITALIAN] (2001 with William Gibson), TOMORROW NOW: ENVISIONING THE NEXT FIFTY YEARS (2002), and SHAPING THINGS  (2005).

Currently living in Turin, Italy with his wife, political activist Jasmina Tešanović, Sterling often produces stories for the European markets under the names of Boris Srebro and Bruno Argento.

All of us at Tachyon wish the remarkable Bruce a happy birthday. Keep staying one step ahead of the rest of us.

For more info on PIRATE UTOPIA, visit the Tachyon page.

Cover and illustration by John Coulthart